tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31762320285507644132024-03-14T06:42:42.437+00:00Steve Does Top of the Pops!In which our hero relives the glory days of Top of the Pops, thanks to the repeats on BBC4.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-74402812052130721812012-12-23T23:34:00.001+00:002014-01-31T20:53:39.318+00:00Top of the Pops: 15th December, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyVprjPokACnKcshWkCwSG4OBRNqQGgUDNn9ywKMFP2bRCEaUVC7ewsgazS_eal36bBh4mD3bWqRBIOiPeM2Rgf4xeq5o30BynAs8j4HT1AdUZ1mU5zrLJxwUOkuzzN5_YuLEwdpMs58/s1600/John+Otway+Wild+Willy+Barrett+1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett on stage in 1981" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyVprjPokACnKcshWkCwSG4OBRNqQGgUDNn9ywKMFP2bRCEaUVC7ewsgazS_eal36bBh4mD3bWqRBIOiPeM2Rgf4xeq5o30BynAs8j4HT1AdUZ1mU5zrLJxwUOkuzzN5_YuLEwdpMs58/s320/John+Otway+Wild+Willy+Barrett+1981.jpg" height="311" title="John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett on stage in 1981" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett in 1981<br />
By Canada Jack aka Jeremy Gilbert (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a> or <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJohnOtwayWildWillyBarrett1981.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hooray!</span></i> At last, <i>Steve Does Top of the Pops</i> creates its last-ever post. Much have I suffered and far have I been but soon my ordeal will be over.<br />
<br />
As though sensing the epoch-makingness of it all, the BBC have raided the piggy bank and brought in a genuine superstar to present it, with the arrival of a startlingly young-looking Elton John.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure who's playing over the chart rundown but it does sound suspiciously like Donna Summer. If so, that would suggest she has two singles out at once, though it has to be said this one doesn't sound a patch on <i>Love's Unkind.</i><br />
<br />
Not a patch on Donna Summer are the Dooleys, doing <i>Love Of My Life</i>.<br />
<br />
As I roam the streets of Sheffield, I'm often asked, "Steve, have you ever been grabbed the Dooleys?" and I say, "Yes. Often grabbed but rarely gripped."<br />
<br />
That could be because this track, surely their greatest achievement, does sound remarkably like it's been culled from a Martini advert.<br />
<br />
I really can't help feeling they could have done with some advice in the wardrobe stakes.<br />
<br />
Needing no advice at all in the wardrobe stakes - because they're looking rather fetching right now - are Legs and Co who're dancing once more to Jonathan Richman's <i>Egyptian Reggae.</i><br />
<br />
It's that legendary dance routine. One so epic they should have been forced to do it every week, for the whole of eternity.<br />
<br />
But you don't hear enough gongs on pop records these days.<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, what <i>was</i> the last hit single to have a gong on it? REM's <i>Losing My Religion</i> should have ended with a gong but the Georgian hit-makers clearly lacked my class and didn't realise it.<br />
<br />
A man who will never be short of class is Carl Douglas. And he's on next - with a song that's not about <i>Kung Fu</i>. In this case it's something called <i>Run Back.</i><br />
<br />
I don't know. I don't like to hem a man in but he's really not the same without the karate gear and bandana.<br />
<br />
Objectively this is a classier song than <i>Kung Fu Fighting</i> but that probably works against it, as its greater sense of taste and dignity means it lacks that song's USP.<br />
<br />
In fact, so devoid of USP is it that they could've stuck the words, "Billy Ocean," on the label and I'm not sure how many people would have noticed it wasn't him.<br />
<br />
Now Julie Covington comes on to tell us <i>Only Women Bleed</i>, which is clearly not true - as all graphic designers know that artwork bleeds too. Still, if she'd called it <i>Only Women and Artwork Bleed</i>, it'd sound like the title of the worst sitcom David Jason never made.<br />
<br />
And whatever this song might be, the one thing it's not is a barrel of laughs.<br />
<br />
It really is a humourless, pompous load of cobblers that sounds like it should've been sung by a woman in dungarees.<br />
<br />
Although, on the plus-side, is it me or does it have weird and unlikely echoes of <i>Rock and Roll</i> by Status Quo?<br />
<br />
Argh! Darts are back with <i>Daddy Cool</i>! Yes, it's a perfectly good record and they all give it plenty of welly but this has to be its twenty sixth appearance on the show.<br />
<br />
And now it's Legs and Co's <i>second</i> appearance on <i>tonight's</i> show as they dance to <i>My Way</i> by Elvis Presley.<br />
<br />
The <i>Top of the Pops</i> hierarchy have managed to secure the services of Elvis Presley's shadow for the performance. This probably isn't the coup it might initially seem, as I suspect his shadow found work increasingly harder to get after his death.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, Legs' dance routine seems to have nothing to do with the song, in either practice or spirit.<br />
<br />
Also lacking connectivity to Elvis in both practice and spirit are John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, with <i>Really Free.</i><br />
<br />
I still remember the sheer bewilderment I and seemingly everyone I knew felt when this first reared its head on <i>Top of the Pops</i> but time has been kind to it and you can't help viewing it as an old and shambolic friend. Not to mention it now feeling like a sort of precursor to the majesty of Jilted John.<br />
<br />
That's niftier guitar playing than I remembered.<br />
<br />
Now it's the Emotions and <i>I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love.</i><br />
<br />
Maybe it's me but it doesn't seem the most inspired song ever written. In fact, I actually think you'd have to make a conscious effort to write a less inspired song - and still fail in the attempt.<br />
<br />
But, Hooray! None of that matters. Why? Because <i>Mull of Kintyre</i> is still Number One.<br />
<br />
And, to celebrate, Macca's paid for the whole of Scotland to be reproduced in a studio that I suspect belongs to Mike Yarwood.<br />
<br />
In fairness, even though it's a blatant fake, it's an impressive one.<br />
<br />
But even Macca can't last forever, and so we play out with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band giving us <i>The Floral Dance</i>, which seems to be dragging on an eternity.<br />
<br />
Still, at least we've been spared Terry Wogan's attempt at it. That track was my first ever exposure to Wogan and I've still not forgiven him for it.<br />
<br />
So there we have it, the end. It probably reflects badly on me that what sticks out most for me about the editions I've covered are the worst or weirdest moments. There was Joy Sarney's happy tribute to domestic violence, Barry Biggs curious resemblance to Henry the 8th, Contempt and their song that no one at all seemed to know anything about. There were Legs and Co's bizarre dance routines and there was the shadow cast over the show by the activities of certain DJs.<br />
<br />
Overall it's hard to avoid the feeling that 1977 was not a great year for music - but it did feature hints of golden days to come, with the arrival of various punk, new wave, pub, disco and synth acts, not to mention engagingly poppy material that some might call guilty pleasures but I wouldn't because I feel no guilt.<br />
<br />
Whether I should feel guilt or not, thanks for sticking with the blog for this long, and have a Merry Christmas.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-7381467609157688132012-12-21T22:02:00.000+00:002012-12-21T22:03:12.828+00:00Top of the Pops: 8th December, 1977.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-M9SPw10lc22xSL8dIP4N3G134IDoWZ5x0vMMofR_Kgzz6KOiMrj0_yNe8lZeYlAtcMAsHT383ccVQp7BaY8rNxl5XvvYA8uELBwXiREv8RdeljiMsNqCFWgzzrOmeuG1oW_z7yD5EY/s1600/bING+CROSBY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bing Crosby, 1942" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-M9SPw10lc22xSL8dIP4N3G134IDoWZ5x0vMMofR_Kgzz6KOiMrj0_yNe8lZeYlAtcMAsHT383ccVQp7BaY8rNxl5XvvYA8uELBwXiREv8RdeljiMsNqCFWgzzrOmeuG1oW_z7yD5EY/s320/bING+CROSBY.jpg" title="Bing Crosby, 1942" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bing Crosby in 1942,<br />
(Public Domain) via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bing_Crosby_1942.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Commons Wikimedia</a>.</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">For</span></i> one whose heart is as hard as mine, Christmas is always horrific. But it's just got worse - because I now have to review two editions in one evening, instead of one.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, I shall meet the dread challenge head-on by totally ignoring it and covering the latter episode on some other day.<br />
<br />
But what of tonight? What tinselly magic can Tony Blackburn sprinkle upon us as we fire ourselves up for the Festive Season?<br />
<br />
The first piece of magic he can weave is turning winter into summer as Donna of that name does the chart countdown with probably my fave track by her; <i>Love's Unkind.</i><br />
<br />
Sadly, we barely get to hear any of it before we meet the night's opening act.<br />
<br />
And it's a bunch of people who look suspiciously like Billy Idol and Generation X though I can't claim to have ever heard the song before. In fact, I didn't know they'd ever bothered the chart compilers before about 1980.<br />
<br />
You can say what you like about Billy Idol but he really was the new Cliff Richard and, to be honest, this actually manages to make Cliff sound like the voice of youthful rebellion.<br />
<br />
Billy keeps saying it's wild but the reality is it's not.<br />
<br />
A raised eyebrow from Tony, as it ends, tells us all we need to know about what <i>he</i> thought of it.<br />
<br />
Hot Chocolate are back with that song no one remembers and has a title that makes no sense.<br />
<br />
I don't care what anyone says, I still like it.<br />
<br />
It's mean, moody and magnificent.<br />
<br />
According to Tony, the next track's by Chick, though, to my ears, they sound remarkably like Chic.<br />
<br />
They're being danced to by Legs and Co who're wearing as little as they can get away with.<br />
<br />
They're followed by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, with a song I've never heard before.<br />
<br />
It's not hard to see why, as it's not exactly what you could call electrifying.<br />
<br />
It'd be easy to say it's why Punk had to happen but, to be honest, it's more like why Bucks Fizz had to happen.<br />
<br />
Bonnie Tyler's back with her Hard Egg.<br />
<br />
"Love him till your arms break," croaks Bonnie, suggesting she struggles to tell the difference between love and self-destructive lunacy.<br />
<br />
The Bee Gees are back for what seems like the millionth time, with <i>How Deep Is Your Love?</i><br />
<br />
And Graham Parker's back with the <i>New York Shuffle</i>. It's amazing how many times he got on the show despite never having had any actual hits.<br />
<br />
Although I was a fan of Graham at that time, this song doesn't do anything for me. I do prefer it when he's being contemptuous about things.<br />
<br />
Next it's The Banned who fail at the first hurdle by not actually being banned. It would appear the song's called <i>Little Girl</i>, which, with all that's being going on lately, means it's a miracle they've made the final cut.<br />
<br />
Are these one of those groups who were famous under another guise - like Yellow Dog were really Fox without Noosha? They have that sort of air about them.<br />
<br />
Whoever they are, they're truly dreadful.<br />
<br />
But, Hooray! At last Macca's with us, and <i>Mull of Kintyre</i> has claimed its rightful spot as the UK's Number 1.<br />
<br />
Paul's still on the fence.<br />
<br />
He still scarpers the moment Linda shows up.<br />
<br />
The pipers are still on that beach.<br />
<br />
And then, with no warning whatsoever, it's all gone <i>Wicker Man</i> on us as everyone in the village gathers for the bonfire.<br />
<br />
That's the magic of Macca for you. Just as you think he's being banal, he pulls the rug from under you by setting fire to Edward Woodward.<br />
<br />
And, blimey, wouldn't you know it, Boney M are on again with <i>Belfast,</i> on the play-out. Someone at <i>Top of the Pops</i> clearly liked it.<br />
<br />
It has to be said, it wasn't a vintage week. In fact, it was rubbish and, if not for Wings and Hot Chocolate, I'd say it had virtually nothing to distinguish it.<br />
<br />
And, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention but where exactly was Bing Crosby, as promised in the listings? Did they really cut him out to make way for The Banned?Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-65796589657384138832012-12-20T22:05:00.000+00:002012-12-21T22:03:32.791+00:00Top of the Pops: 8th December, 1977. An Update.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-M9SPw10lc22xSL8dIP4N3G134IDoWZ5x0vMMofR_Kgzz6KOiMrj0_yNe8lZeYlAtcMAsHT383ccVQp7BaY8rNxl5XvvYA8uELBwXiREv8RdeljiMsNqCFWgzzrOmeuG1oW_z7yD5EY/s1600/bING+CROSBY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bing Crosby, 1942" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-M9SPw10lc22xSL8dIP4N3G134IDoWZ5x0vMMofR_Kgzz6KOiMrj0_yNe8lZeYlAtcMAsHT383ccVQp7BaY8rNxl5XvvYA8uELBwXiREv8RdeljiMsNqCFWgzzrOmeuG1oW_z7yD5EY/s320/bING+CROSBY.jpg" title="Bing Crosby, 1942" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bing Crosby in 1942,<br />
(Public Domain) via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bing_Crosby_1942.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Commons Wikimedia</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Christmas</span></i> is currently working its magic at Chez Steve - and that means that, thanks to real-life holiday goings-on getting in the way, this week's post shall be a little delayed. I'll get it done as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience, and see you soon.<br />
<br />
<br />Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-58918860404227769682012-12-13T20:56:00.000+00:002012-12-13T20:56:36.338+00:00Top of the Pops: 24th November, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQAMtyNmU9sm71gs7CsYqOi9vIDlfla6go5yFKWeOl9f_767NmrrslFtk1zwQvNBVYUT57UsNA6NF-VepDSXsmo9E0j5-pTYsn74tfdDVrVYJjFGGH4s1RUJUBlK-ocbBPZX_UKEOhfA/s1600/Mull+of+Kintyre+lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mull of Kintyre lighthouse" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQAMtyNmU9sm71gs7CsYqOi9vIDlfla6go5yFKWeOl9f_767NmrrslFtk1zwQvNBVYUT57UsNA6NF-VepDSXsmo9E0j5-pTYsn74tfdDVrVYJjFGGH4s1RUJUBlK-ocbBPZX_UKEOhfA/s320/Mull+of+Kintyre+lighthouse.jpg" title="Mull of Kintyre lighthouse" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mull of Kintyre lighthouse by Steve Partridge<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0">CC-BY-SA-2.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMull_of_Kintyre_Lighthouse._-_geograph.org.uk_-_347240.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a><br />
<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>This </i></span>is it. I have my bagpipes plugged in, my sporran in my hand and I'm all revved up for what I believe is set to be a historic show.<br />
<br />
It certainly is - because we kick off with Boney M single-handedly sorting out Northern Ireland for what seems to be the ninth week running. I do like to feel Bobby was hoping to dance the IRA into submission.<br />
<br />
Sadly, we don't get to see him do so, as we only get to hear The M over the chart rundown.<br />
<br />
That done with, it's some people who've been watching too much Bay City Rollers and listening to too much Beach Boys, trying to cash in what I assume was the skateboard craze.<br />
<br />
Whoever they are, I do get the feeling the skateboard craze has arrived five years too late for their hopes of stardom. They look like they've been locked in a cupboard since 1974 and have only just escaped it.<br />
<br />
Hold on a moment! That drummer's not the bloke who used to be in Flintlock and <i>The Tomorrow People</i> is it? Mike Holoway, was he called? If it is him, suddenly, whoever these people, are my feelings towards them have warmed instantly and I hope they have many chart hits for years to come. I can wish nothing but good to a Tomorrow Person.<br />
<br />
From a Tomorrow Person to the <i>Yesterday</i> man. Because - hooray! - it's Wings. It's that song. It's that video. It's that farmhouse.<br />
<br />
I don't care how uncool it is to say so, I'll admit it right here and now. I love this song. It's one of the greatest melodies ever written, it wipes the floor with 99% of punk records and I'm tempted to whip out my guitar and join in.<br />
<br />
Linda's appeared from the farmhouse and Paul's suddenly doing a runner. Stop running away from Linda, Paul. She might have a veggie burger for you.<br />
<br />
The pipe band have appeared. On the beach. Forget <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>. <i>This</i> is the greatest video in history.<br />
<br />
"Sweep through the heather." Don't mention heather, Paul.<br />
<br />
Disgracefully, Macca's faded-out long before we get to hear his shouty bit - and we're off from Scotland to Wales.<br />
<br />
That's because it's Bonnie Tyler with <i>It's A Hard Egg</i>.<br />
<br />
I'm getting a bit bored with it now. I want Wings back.<br />
<br />
Instead I get Darts, with <i>Daddy Cool</i>. It's all very energetic but this is the millionth time they've been on doing it. I'm starting to want a new song from them.<br />
<br />
Kid's back.<br />
<br />
He's trying to strangle a female audience member.<br />
<br />
Leo Sayer's on with a song I have no recollection of.<br />
<br />
It seems to be called <i>There Isn't Anything</i>.<br />
<br />
This is quite pleasant. It's exactly like you'd expect a Leo Sayer song to sound. And it's got exactly the video you'd expect a Leo Sayer song to have. Was this from his TV show? It has the air of something that would be.<br />
<br />
Leo's gone and Legs and Co are with us, dancing to Jonathan Richman's <i>Egyptian Reggae</i>, which isn't actually reggae at all, is it?<br />
<br />
However you classify it, it's giving Flick Colby the chance to hit new heights of choreographic literalism, with everyone dressed up Cleopatra style.<br />
<br />
And now we get the full power of Flick's genius as, for no good reason, a panto camel appears.<br />
<br />
What a mighty beast that is. No wonder it can survive for weeks in the desert.<br />
<br />
Was this song the inspiration for Fleetwood Mac's <i>Tusk</i>? There <i>are</i> noticeable similarities between the two tracks.<br />
<br />
Flick's flung herself fully into madness, as the camel launches into a tap-dance.<br />
<br />
Having seen that performance, I do feel all women should be forced to dress like Cleopatra and all men should be forced to dress as a camel.<br />
<br />
Hot Chocolate are back, with <i>Put Your Love In Me</i>.<br />
<br />
This is another one I've not heard of.<br />
<br />
I didn't think it was possible to not have heard of a 1970s Hot Chocolate single.<br />
<br />
Interesting chord change.<br />
<br />
Actually, it's turned out I <i>have</i> heard this before. I just didn't recognise it till it hit the chorus. This is all rather fabby and disco and vaguely Cerrone.<br />
<br />
Speaking of fabby disco groovers, it's another helping of the Bee Gees and <i>How Deep Is Your Love?</i><br />
<br />
And next it's someone called Larry Gomez with Santa Esmeralda doing <i>Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood</i>. Fair play to him, he's doing his best, whoever he is but, sadly, I fear the total uselessness of both him and his dancers means his efforts will prove to be in vain.<br />
<br />
ABBA are still Number 1 with <i>Name of the Game</i>.<br />
<br />
And we play out with the Jacksons and <i>Going Places</i>. A Jacksons song I recognise. Will wonders never cease?<br />
<br />
It's going on a bit. Were they running short this week?<br />
<br />
So that's it. The edition when we first saw the future biggest-selling single in British history. I have to say I didn't feel the show as a whole caught light this week. There were two many tracks we've heard before, acts we'd never hear from again, and <i>Mull of Kintyre</i> was cut short. Still, we did at least get to see the moment when Flick Colby's brain finally sprung a leak and undiluted madness poured out. Let's be honest if you don't want to see that from <i>Top of the Pops</i>, what <i>do</i> you want to see?Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-66510857922675721722012-11-29T20:55:00.000+00:002012-11-29T20:55:16.055+00:00Top of the Pops: 10th November, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvvwEpMC-M-kxVcv3LBRJiRM8e-EQukl8WthqQmL_J4iN0njGZ36Krt5o_j7skFE-2oFSzjenkQizW7Q6mm_AUh7EaUgTd_DW4d2YyVUUcqbszn-ws7akWrsH4JFWSIviIOsn2NKWba8/s1600/Roxy_Music_-_TopPop_1973_05.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, 1973" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvvwEpMC-M-kxVcv3LBRJiRM8e-EQukl8WthqQmL_J4iN0njGZ36Krt5o_j7skFE-2oFSzjenkQizW7Q6mm_AUh7EaUgTd_DW4d2YyVUUcqbszn-ws7akWrsH4JFWSIviIOsn2NKWba8/s320/Roxy_Music_-_TopPop_1973_05.png" title="Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, 1973" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music.<br />
By AVRO (Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1973)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARoxy_Music_-_TopPop_1973_05.png">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>This</i></span> week, to avoid the reception difficulties that so plague me whenever I do this, I'm leaping into the 21st Century in a way that only 1977 can make you do, and watching online.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, almost the moment the show starts, I lose my connection.<br />
<br />
When I get it back, we've already missed the intro and I'm confronted by what I assume to be the Jacksons over the chart countdown.<br />
<br />
If it is them, it's a song I've never heard before - unless it's the song they did the other week, that I'd also not heard before.<br />
<br />
A song I mostly definitely <i>have</i> heard before is on next, as Tom Robinson's back.<br />
<br />
And there's still something about it that doesn't quite work for me. I love the record but this performance feels too pub for my liking. It's 1977. I'm going through an awkward phase. I'm having strange feelings I've never had before. Mostly involving my internet connection going down. I need some proper punk rebellion.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the camera man's hanging from the ceiling.<br />
<br />
I suppose that might count as punk rebellion.<br />
<br />
That guitarist's got very untidy strings. I shouldn't be annoyed by that but, somehow, I am.<br />
<br />
But now Tom's gone, and Noel claims that both Donna Summer and Ruby Winters used to be in the Four Seasons. I suspect that may not be true<br />
<br />
What <i>is</i> true is that Ruby's on next, doing <i>I Will.</i><br />
<br />
Didn't the White Guardian have a chair like that in <i>Dr Who</i>? If he didn't, he should have.<br />
<br />
She seems a bit confused in her movements, like she doesn't know where to look.<br />
<br />
But who can blame her? Adrift in a sea of whiteness, it's much she's not got snow-blindness.<br />
<br />
She needs to watch out. I once knew someone who insisted that, when a polar bear attacks, it puts one paw over its black nose and thus becomes invisible against the polar ice, meaning there could be one stood right in front of you and you'd never know it.<br />
<br />
Something for Ruby to think about there as she rambles around the set.<br />
<br />
Roxy Music are on with their brand new hit; <i>Virginia Plain</i>.<br />
<br />
I wonder if Bryan Ferry was ever young? No matter how old the footage, he always looks middle-aged.<br />
<br />
I've just realised, after all these years, I don't have the slightest clue what Bryan Ferry's singing about.<br />
<br />
Oops, connection's gone again.<br />
<br />
It turns out I've not missed much, as we're back with Boney M still solving all of Northern Ireland's problems by wearing silly costumes and dancing around a bit.<br />
<br />
Elvis Costello's back with <i>Watching The Detectives, </i>the song that first brought him to my eagle-eyed attention when he appeared on the Mavis Nicholson show.<br />
<br />
Now it's Legs and Company dancing to <i>How Deep is Your Love?</i> by the Bee Gees. A lot deeper than your voices, that's for sure.<br />
<br />
For some reason, "Company" seem to be recreating Dick Van Dyke's legendary turn in <i>Mary Poppins</i>.<br />
<br />
I don't have the slightest clue why.<br />
<br />
But now it's one from left field because we're given Kenny Everett and Captain Kremmen.<br />
<br />
I have no memory of this at all.<br />
<br />
Obviously I remember Captain Kremmen and I remember Kenny Everett. So elephantine is my memory that I can even remember both of them at the same time but the record itself means nothing to me.<br />
<br />
I have to say, it isn't the most thrilling song I've ever heard.<br />
<br />
Or the most interesting video.<br />
<br />
Now Noel's with two baffling looking women.<br />
<br />
And now it's Santana in a video that seems to have been filmed on a mobile phone, which is quite an achievement in 1977.<br />
<br />
Then again there's that infamous footage that seems to show a woman using a mobile phone in the 1920s, or whenever it was, so all things are possible.<br />
<br />
I still don't have a clue who the singer is. My Steve Senses tell me it's probably not Colin Blunstone, despite what I thought last week.<br />
<br />
Have we actually seen Santana yet?<br />
<br />
But yes! Hooray! At last we get to see him, fuzzily, just in time for him to be faded out. Poor old Santana. Not even allowed to star in his own videos.<br />
<br />
Not needing a video - because she's here in person - it's Tina Charles who, according to Noel, has a <i>Love Bug</i>. What an unfortunate link that is.<br />
<br />
Darts are back.<br />
<br />
And Daddy Cool's still playing his piano machine. I wonder what exactly a piano machine actually does?<br />
<br />
Den's still looking far too inhibited.<br />
<br />
ABBA are still Number 1.<br />
<br />
And we go out with Rod.<br />
<br />
When I say, "Go out," I of course don't mean that in the Rod Stewart sense of the phrase. Despite rumours to the contrary, I'm not, after all, a statuesque Scandinavian blonde.<br />
<br />
I have to say this week's show wasn't really up there with last week's blockbuster epic but it did at least give us Darts, Roxy Music and the Bee Gees - and what I'll always regard as Elvis Costello's first <i>Top of the Pops</i> appearance even though it wasn't.<br />
<br />
In some ways, tonight's edition was ahead of its time, with mobile phone recorded videos, and in some ways it was behind its time, with a revived classic from 1972. But I suppose that sums up this time of year for you, when we look both forward at what's to come and backwards at what's already been. In that sense, perhaps it captured the quintessence of the pre-festive season. Then again, maybe I'm just desperately trying to think up some philosophical point with which to end this post.<br />
<br />
Blimey! Look at that! I've managed it!Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-31738155249237118882012-11-22T21:01:00.000+00:002012-11-22T21:01:04.469+00:00Top of the Pops: 3rd November 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32GX2oBNv3FfWPqMvBWqRACWn1GDVDizmW1NOWSrL3p11GR6_s6zcRXrKHxgXds6AQgC0vze3yFVyTO6t2NOicZ5i2RiEA0QZoyb9fUkWueABcJlZNiJSiunRoifbtiNjuqUMkkvY6yM/s1600/457px-Carpenters_-_Nixon_-_Office.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Carpenters, 1972" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32GX2oBNv3FfWPqMvBWqRACWn1GDVDizmW1NOWSrL3p11GR6_s6zcRXrKHxgXds6AQgC0vze3yFVyTO6t2NOicZ5i2RiEA0QZoyb9fUkWueABcJlZNiJSiunRoifbtiNjuqUMkkvY6yM/s400/457px-Carpenters_-_Nixon_-_Office.png" title="The Carpenters, 1972" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Carpenters in 1972.<br />
White House photo by Knudsen, Robert L.<br />
[Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACarpenters_-_Nixon_-_Office.png">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>A</i></span> new face joins us for this week's show. It's Perky Peter Powell, surely the world's cheeriest living human. Will he be able to maintain that cheeriness through half an hour of 1977's finest music, or will he be left a bitter twisted husk of a man vowing never again to work in British television?<br />
<br />
Only the next thirty minutes can tell us.<br />
<br />
But it's ELO over the rundown, doing <i>Turn To Stone</i>. And that can only mean one thing; we're off to a flying start and Peter's sanity won't be crushed just yet.<br />
<br />
Nor will it be even now because we're suddenly served up the Jam with <i>The Modern World</i>.<br />
<br />
To be honest, it's not one of my favourite Jam tracks, being blessed with a tune I can never in any way, shape or form remember but it's still the Jam; and bad Jam is better than no Jam.<br />
<br />
As if to prove it, Peter's back, with sanity resolutely uncrushed.<br />
<br />
I'm not totally sure I can say the same for the Carpenters, who join us for their legendary cover of Klaatu's <i>Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft</i>.<br />
<br />
You can tell the <i>Star Wars</i>/<i>CE3K</i> sci-fi boom's starting to hit big. And was that Meco I spotted in the chart rundown?<br />
<br />
But the special effects budget for this video must have been epic. It's a wonder Steven Spielberg wasn't straight on the phone to them to get them to redo the SFX on <i>Close Encounters Of The Third Kind </i>for him.<br />
<br />
Well, aliens might be coming for us but, more importantly, so is Christmas. And that can only mean a visit from the band who only seemed to exist when there was tinsel in the air. It's the Barron Knights with <i>Live In Trouble</i>.<br />
<br />
They're doing the impossible and sending up the Floaters who themselves went so far into the realms of self-parody that they came right back out the other end.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure I'm enjoying any of this but the the Barron Knights clearly are.<br />
<br />
Someone I'm bound to enjoy more are Queen giving us <i>We Are The Champions</i><br />
<br />
I've always remembered the first time I saw this video on <i>Top of the Pops</i> - mostly because Freddie's half black and half white in it, like that bloke in <i>Star Trek</i>.<br />
<br />
Unlike that bloke in <i>Star Trek</i>, Freddie doesn't go mad and start trying to strangle himself.<br />
<br />
But who's that on bass? Is it the bloke who normally played bass for Queen? As you can see, I have an encyclopedic knowledge of the band and its membership.<br />
<br />
Sadly, an encyclopedic knowledge of Dorothy Moore is something I gravely lack. And so, as Legs and Co come on, dancing to her track <i>I Believe You</i>, I must confess it's a song I'm not familiar with. Its style is, however, highly familiar.<br />
<br />
As for Legs, they seem to be wearing their shower curtains - and not in a good way.<br />
<br />
But, hooray! It's Status Quo and <i>Rocking All Over the World</i>.<br />
<br />
It's easy to knock the Quo - and just calling them that has suddenly made me sound like Les Battersby - but no one does empty-headed knees-up music quite like them.<br />
<br />
As for Peter, he's getting bouncier as it goes along. I actually think he's filled with helium and only held tethered to the ground by a piece of string.<br />
<br />
And now! At last! It's David Bowie! After all these months, they've finally let him on the show!<br />
<br />
Then again, maybe they shouldn't have. He's doing <i>Heroes</i> and, to be honest, this is rubbish compared to the record.<br />
<br />
The wall of sound seems to have been replaced by a desultory attempt at light hedging that's been hit by a half-hearted stab at topiary<br />
<br />
Is this the <i>Top of the Pops</i> band playing? I can't help feel they lack a certain bite.<br />
<br />
After a complacent sounding start, David's starting to give it some but, without an equal level of some-givingness by his band, I fear it's all doomed to do a classic record poor justice.<br />
<br />
These days, I actually can't see David Bowie without seeing Ricky Gervais in my head. That can't be a good thing, can it?<br />
<br />
But what's on next is definitely a good thing.<br />
<br />
It's Showaddywaddy, with <i>Dancing Party</i>.<br />
<br />
It's a radical departure from their usual sound.<br />
<br />
Well, OK, it's not. It's exactly the same song they always have hits with.<br />
<br />
But they're getting stuck in - the extraneous members, especially, demonstrating how to turn extraneity into a crowd-pleasing asset.<br />
<br />
Dare one suggest they're giving David Bowie a lesson in how to do the show?<br />
<br />
A band who don't need any lessons in how to do the show - mostly because they never bother appearing on it - are ABBA, and they're Number 1 with <i>Name of the Game</i>.<br />
<br />
But, meanwhile, is that Smokie I hear on the play-out?<br />
<br />
I do believe it is.<br />
<br />
To be honest, whatever mood I come to this show in, I often find myself having to bury rather than praise it.<br />
<br />
But, this time, resistance is futile. Tonight's edition was packed with great songs - and at least one great performance from the band they don't call The Wadd. And, if the Jam and David Bowie weren't at their very best, at least they were there.<br />
<br />
I can only credit Peter Powell who must have somehow worked his smiley, bouncy magic to lift the show to undreamed of heights. Well done, Peter. Long may you reign over us. Now please don't get arrested before your next appearance.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-11865582540451595252012-11-15T21:01:00.000+00:002012-11-15T21:01:19.803+00:00Top of the Pops: 27th October, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Pehb3RR5q3XbrMxDFIa_rab4CDQeLS193JGAVgVILe2B61hKNjtMQiUySsLT_8hhb7P_2rd_DHbeSu9ozSMJdD-ZsPpBg2UCyDfPbnFMuwnApxiulIRl6kkJDRhQSKSuhGmpfep2Nzs/s1600/David_Bowie+TopPop+1974.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="David Bowie, live on stage, wearing an eyepatch and playing a guitar in 1974" border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Pehb3RR5q3XbrMxDFIa_rab4CDQeLS193JGAVgVILe2B61hKNjtMQiUySsLT_8hhb7P_2rd_DHbeSu9ozSMJdD-ZsPpBg2UCyDfPbnFMuwnApxiulIRl6kkJDRhQSKSuhGmpfep2Nzs/s320/David_Bowie+TopPop+1974.png" title="David Bowie in 1974" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Bowie was supposed to be on tonight's show but,<br />
thanks to the Dave Lee Travis thing, wasn't.<br />
Poor David. He must be wondering if he'll ever get to appear<br />
on <i>Top of the Pops</i>.<br />
Meanwhile, here is is in 1974, by AVRO<br />
(Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1974)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADavid_Bowie_-_TopPop_1974_10.png">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Well</span></i>, it's all been a right old kerfuffle, with tonight's planned edition being pulled, thanks to the Dave Lee Travis arrest.<br />
<br />
But, undeterred by such shocks and surprises, I'm here and raring to go.<br />
<br />
Can David Kid Jensen pull off a coup and be the first <i>Top of the Pops</i> presenter not to get arrested at an inconvenient moment?<br />
<br />
Only the next half hour can tell.<br />
<br />
And we kick off with Santana doing <i>She's Not There</i>.<br />
<br />
Who's doing the singing on this? I assume it's not Carlos.<br />
<br />
Is it Colin Blunstone? It sounds like him.<br />
<br />
And this week's obligatory Rock and Roll revivalists are...<br />
<br />
...Slade!<br />
<br />
But not looking or sounding like Slade.<br />
<br />
Noddy of course still sounds like Noddy. Even in these days of the much-lauded New Rock, some things don't change.<br />
<br />
They seem to be doing <i>My Baby Left Me. That's All Right</i>.<br />
<br />
They're doing it competently enough but is this really what we want to hear from our favourite Wolverhampton foot-stompers?<br />
<br />
Dave's gone bald. Is this an attempt to jump on that New Music bandwagon that's sweeping the land?<br />
<br />
Definitely not trying to jump on that bandwagon is Mary Mason who's here to treat us to her version of <i>Any Way That You Want Me</i>.<br />
<br />
She doesn't look very happy.<br />
<br />
Was this from a musical?<br />
<br />
Whatever it's from, it's not grabbing me.<br />
<br />
It's turned into <i>Angel Of The Morning</i> but I'm still not getting into it.<br />
<br />
Massive eyelashes cast humongous shadows across her face, like the legs of giant, eyeball-eating spiders.<br />
<br />
And now it's all gone Cilla Black.<br />
<br />
Learning nothing from recent scandals, Kid's with a zillion young girls.<br />
<br />
And now Darts are here with <i>Daddy Cool</i>.<br />
<br />
I did always feel Darts should have been the cast of <i>Blake's 7</i>. Somehow you could see them pulling it off.<br />
<br />
A man's playing a guitar solo on his saxophone, which takes some doing.<br />
<br />
And now Den Heggarty's getting stuck in.<br />
<br />
He still looks like Beaker from the Muppets.<br />
<br />
But forget Muppets - because Ram Jam are back, and being danced to by Legs and Co.<br />
<br />
Incited by such wild music, they're going for it, the brazen hussies.<br />
<br />
Lots of hair flinging.<br />
<br />
Fists in your face from one of them<br />
<br />
And now Kid's back, with yet more young girls.<br />
<br />
Possibly, I think, singing about the more mature woman, it's Rod Stewart and <i>You're In My Heart</i>.<br />
<br />
What a lovely song this is - one of those tracks, like <i>Nobody Does It Better</i>, that you could only imagine coming out in 1977.<br />
<br />
And he's, so far, resisted the urge to ruin it by waving his bum in our face.<br />
<br />
But who was the big bosomed lady with the Dutch accent? It can't have been Britt Ekland. That wouldn't make any sense at all.<br />
<br />
And just what <i>are</i> Celtic United?<br />
<br />
You have to hand it to him, only Rod Stewart could do a tender love song that massed ranks could wave their scarves along to.<br />
<br />
Now it's Boney M and <i>Belfast</i>.<br />
<br />
I do always feel this track was somewhat of a mistake.<br />
<br />
Leaving aside the fact it's got to be one of the dullest hits they ever had - and its optimism for the city proved hopelessly premature - does anyone really want to see Boney M tackling social politics of the day?<br />
<br />
And, speaking of people who should be in <i>Blake's 7</i>, what on Earth are they wearing? Let's be honest, nothing says, "The Troubles," more than dressing up like something from<i> Star Maidens From Outer Space</i>.<br />
<br />
The truth is, I'm getting bored listening to it, and I can't usually say that about Boney M.<br />
<br />
No reason to be bored next - because it's Tom Robinson, making his debut with <i>2-4-6-8 Motorway</i>.<br />
<br />
Is it my imagination? The show's volume seems to have dropped noticeably for Tom.<br />
<br />
I must admit, despite my liking for the record, this seems a workmanlike performance and he's coming across like an English teacher trying to convince his class he's a punk star.<br />
<br />
People who didn't need to convince anyone of anything are on next, as ABBA give us <i>The Name of The Game</i>.<br />
<br />
I love this song. I love this video. When it comes to ABBA, they're both the virtual definition of quintessential.<br />
<br />
Is that Ludo they're playing? You don't get enough Ludo in modern pop.<br />
<br />
And now it's Smokey Robinson with what Kid tells us is the theme from <i>The Big Time</i>.<br />
<br />
He doesn't mean that Esther Rantzen show, does he? The one that discovered Sheena Easton?<br />
<br />
It's not very interesting, whatever it is.<br />
<br />
The audience looking riveted by Smokey's performance.<br />
<br />
He's brought his band with him but he seems to have forgotten to bring a song with him.<br />
<br />
Kid's back with more girls.<br />
<br />
Kid's flirting with one of them.<br />
<br />
And Baccara are somehow at Number 1.<br />
<br />
It's that same terrible performance we seem to have had inflicted on us every week for months now.<br />
<br />
Is it me or is the drummer not quite in time?<br />
<br />
Then again I once read a thing in a newspaper, where a Classical musicologist said the secret of the Beatles' greatness was Ringo never quite drumming in time, so perhaps Baccara were shrewder than we might have thought.<br />
<br />
Oh my God, it's Peter Powell, Radio 1's newest recruit!<br />
<br />
Oh my God, it's the Sex Pistols and <i>Holidays In The Sun</i>!<br />
<br />
Like the sneakiest of sneaky devils, the show leaves its two big dramatic reveals till right at the end!<br />
<br />
What a mixed bag that all was, with probably the least memorable record Slade ever unleashed on the 1970s public, Tom Robinson's debut and the shock arrival of Peter Powell and the Sex Pistols. Overall, despite Mary Mason, Smokey Robinson and Baccara, I generally approved of it.<br />
<br />
And no one got arrested. Which, let's face it, these days, is the most important thing on a music show.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-83609182016774675322012-11-01T21:16:00.000+00:002012-11-01T21:24:00.148+00:00Top of the Pops: 6th October, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8a2NNhkWvANplg7ODppU8rEkCl2EeRZerLpm7WsryMkhtvmMJdU2uvS1IHHeY9M6r3RHcAIzN2ewRhFq_jLAHcY1y4WxXRZ2yB24cHhtAK3AjIq4SCWHnTvtLC3l_c3zACfEJkBQ7Lfs/s1600/Yes+in+concert+1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yes, live in concert, 1977" border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8a2NNhkWvANplg7ODppU8rEkCl2EeRZerLpm7WsryMkhtvmMJdU2uvS1IHHeY9M6r3RHcAIzN2ewRhFq_jLAHcY1y4WxXRZ2yB24cHhtAK3AjIq4SCWHnTvtLC3l_c3zACfEJkBQ7Lfs/s320/Yes+in+concert+1977.jpg" title="Yes in concert, 1977" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes in concert, in 1977 by Rick Dikeman (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL</a> or <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AYes_concert.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Those</span></i> who follow me on Twitter know that, over the last few days, I've become increasingly obsessed with the back-catalogue of David Essex.<br />
<br />
So, it's clear my musical taste's in fine fettle for the task ahead.<br />
<br />
Also no doubt in fine fettle is Noel Edmonds who kicks it all off by making a baffling comment about things being black.<br />
<br />
At first I assume its because the first few artists pictured on the chart rundown are all black. Why Noel should seek to draw attention to this, I don't know.<br />
<br />
But then it then becomes apparent that Noel hasn't joined the Ku Klux Klan since we last saw him. He was merely referring to the track that's playing over the rundown.<br />
<br />
Sadly, so bad is my memory as I enter old age that I can't remember who it's by even though they were only on last week.<br />
<br />
But even my crumbling memory can't forget Smokie - mostly because they seem to be on every edition.<br />
<br />
And so it is that they return, with <i>Needles and Pins</i> which Noel declares to be a classic.<br />
<br />
Next it's the Emotions with <i>Best of My Love</i>.<br />
<br />
Is that the <i>Soul Train</i> set I detect?<br />
<br />
It is. Which means there's going to be plenty of dancing, not least from the Emotions who have a peculiarly jerky dance style that's somewhat shown up by the much cooler groovings of the audience.<br />
<br />
As always, each member of the audience only has one actual dance move, which he/she repeats endlessly as though powered by clockwork.<br />
<br />
Now it's Danny Mirror.<br />
<br />
At first I make the fool's mistake of thinking I've never heard of him...<br />
<br />
...but then he opens his mouth and I realise at once that I <i>have</i> heard of him.<br />
<br />
For it is he who inflicted the song <i>I Remember Elvis Presley</i> on us.<br />
<br />
As Elvis Presley was Number 1 only last week, it's not that great a feat of recall on Danny's part - but then <i>I </i>can't remember the names of acts who were on last week, so maybe I should cut him some slack.<br />
<br />
But it does show how the mind plays tricks on one. I always remembered this as having been done by Les Gray of Mud.<br />
<br />
"He's just a golden mammary," sings Danny. And, with his attempts to replicate The King's voice and random chunks of his hits, Danny's clearly determined to milk that mammary for all it's worth.<br />
<br />
I hated this song at the time and I hate it now.<br />
<br />
And now it's Legs and Co dancing to something.<br />
<br />
It sounds suspiciously like the hirsute man the world in 1977 knows only as Giorgio.<br />
<br />
And it is, with <i>From Here to Eternity</i>. It might be a million years old now but it's still a stunningly cool record.<br />
<br />
Legs are waving lots of tin foil around. No doubt in the hopes of thwarting the radar of any World War Two bombers that might still be around.<br />
<br />
Thwarting none but the forces of punk are Yes who are on with <i>Wonderous Stories</i>.<br />
<br />
This song is the first I ever heard of Yes and it's one of those tracks I most strongly associate with 1977.<br />
<br />
As we quickly see, Yes meet the challenge of punk head-on by completely ignoring it.<br />
<br />
Someone else paying no lip service at all to punk is Deniece Williams, back with a song which seems to be called <i>Baby Baby My Love's All For You</i>, with which I've been previously unfamiliar. That's a shame as it seems quite pleasant but possibly no more than workwomanlike.<br />
<br />
The Stranglers are back with <i>No More Heroes</i>.<br />
<br />
And now Baccara are Bacc. They're as breathy as ever and they're still what can only be labelled, "Vocally challenged."<br />
<br />
And now Steve Gibbons is back with a song in the same vein as his last hit.<br />
<br />
As always, he's got his tightest leather trousers on but, frankly, this is a bit rubbish. Despite Steve's best efforts, it has no oomph to it at all.<br />
<br />
Not that David Soul cares about oomph. Although displaying a total lack of that quality, he's at Number 1 with you-know-what song. He's still in that video and he's still not cheered up.<br />
<br />
But now Noel's with a woman and doing a link that's got me totally baffled. It seems her name's Kim and she has a record out but he doesn't say what it is or let her speak. It seems to be some sort of in-joke but I'm oblivious to its in-ness.<br />
<br />
We play out with Leo Sayer who's still got thunder in his heart.<br />
<br />
In retrospect, I can't help feeling this week's show struggled to get going. I appreciated the Stranglers of course, as I always do, but it was a performance we've already seen before and I can't think of anything else that grabbed me. Even Smokie failed to work the magic they so often have.<br />
<br />
In the end, the totally Zeitgeist deficient Yes were probably my highlight, which says it all about the strange failure of the edition to fully grip the handles of my nostalgia.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-87555426439669766882012-10-25T21:04:00.000+01:002012-10-25T22:55:34.739+01:00Top of the Pops: 29th September, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgR5YmayzPFUh0spbukiTNfk5qLK9E-xepXLL8jbQrX2zov8jrZydSsyu0DlKx-KD4kd5Zuz3MajU5z5wNKiyigAPs9AQ3zazIRGbIAlqnDcoxfGX58dPcGh8EklCOdWwCNvoU8Wl17o/s1600/Golden_Earring+TopPop+1974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Golden Earring, 1974" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgR5YmayzPFUh0spbukiTNfk5qLK9E-xepXLL8jbQrX2zov8jrZydSsyu0DlKx-KD4kd5Zuz3MajU5z5wNKiyigAPs9AQ3zazIRGbIAlqnDcoxfGX58dPcGh8EklCOdWwCNvoU8Wl17o/s320/Golden_Earring+TopPop+1974.jpg" title="Golden Earring, 1974" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Earring in 1974 By AVRO<br />
(Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1974)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGolden_Earring_-_TopPop_1974_8.png">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">For</span></i> the most part, today's proven to be a battle with the madness of modern technology for me.<br />
<br />
But will that deter me from tangling with yet more technology in order to sample the finest music the 1970s can offer?<br />
<br />
Of course it won't.<br />
<br />
And I'm not the only one, because Ed Stewart too is braving the latest hi-tech, in the form of a tiny spaceship that all my sci-fi geek instincts tell me has Mat Irvine's fingerprints all over it.<br />
<br />
And it's not the only Space Age thing Ed brings with him, because, straight away, he launches us into Jean Michel Jarre, for the countdown.<br />
<br />
And what do you know? Jean Michel works much better as countdown music than most records have lately.<br />
<br />
But how futuristic the future sounded in the late 1970s.<br />
<br />
I don't have a clue who the next act are but there's plenty of them and they've got the funk. Whoever they are, they're putting Honky in their place - and that's not a phrase I say every day.<br />
<br />
Ed's back and he tells us it was Rose Royce, which gives some hint of the level of musical knowledge <i>I</i> have.<br />
<br />
And this is David Soul.<br />
<br />
Lots of meaningful looks from David.<br />
<br />
I am really disappointed that, when the camera pulls back, it turns out the thing he's riding around on so moodily isn't a Raleigh Chopper. Just how great would that have been?<br />
<br />
If he'd had any style, he'd have followed that up by whipping out a pair of Clackers.<br />
<br />
But, now, not a Clacker in sight, he's out on the street, doing something that vaguely resembles the purchasement of druggage.<br />
<br />
But David's cut off barely before he's begun, to make way for Legs and Co dancing to Bob Marley's <i>I Don't Wanna Wait in Vain For Your love</i>.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, they've dressed appropriately for reggae by wrapping themselves in their local boarding house's net curtains.<br />
<br />
Old Flick did like plenty of skirt waggling, didn't she?<br />
<br />
You have to hand it to her, there's not many choreographers could come up with something quite this inane at such short notice.<br />
<br />
But now Ed's back, and staying well away from females. After weeks of you-know-what, it is quite striking to be confronted by a presenter who shows no interest at all in the audience members around him. At the time, it must have seemed very stand-offish. No wonder he hardly ever got the gig.<br />
<br />
And now it's the man who gave us the cover of <i>Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band</i>.<br />
<br />
That's right; it's Peter Blake.<br />
<br />
He's changed a lot since then, hasn't he? In fact, he's practically unrecognisable.<br />
<br />
Hold on a minute. Is that Kirk St Moritz?<br />
<br />
Whether he is or not, it does seem like there was a union rule at the time that every edition had to include a Rock and Roll revivalist with what looked like roadkill on his head.<br />
<br />
In fairness, it may be hokey old rubbish but he's giving it a go.<br />
<br />
And now it's Ram Jam with <i>Black Betty</i>.<br />
<br />
Quite frankly, I've never really known what to make of either Ram Jam or <i>Black Betty</i>. I don't like to judge people on appearances but they do look like very dodgy people and it does seem a somewhat mean-spirited song. On top of that, it has one of the most ludicrously out-of-place guitar solos in history...<br />
<br />
...which we don't get to hear, as <i>Top of the Pops</i> fades it just as we're about to receive its full glory.<br />
<br />
David Essex is back and he's still <i>Cool Out Tonight</i>, a phrase that has as much chance of catching on as Kid Jensen's, "<i>Good Love</i>."<br />
<br />
"Bump bad a boo boo," declares David, clearly out to capture the eternal angst of the human spirit.<br />
<br />
Orville's back! with <i>I Plead Guilty</i>.<br />
<br />
I wonder if he looked that permanently surprised in real life.<br />
<br />
I wonder why bright yellow suits never caught on.<br />
<br />
I wonder why this one sounds exactly the same as their last one.<br />
<br />
Their bolt well and truly shot, they make way for a woman about whom you could never make that accusation. It's Donna Summer with <i>I Remember Yesterday</i>. Let's be honest, it's not that great an achievement. Most people do. After all, it <i>was</i> only a few hours ago.<br />
<br />
It's not the greatest video I've ever seen either. In fact, a far crueler man than I might label it, "terrible," as Donna prannies around dressed like a bad magician who's lost a fight with a bottle of bleach.<br />
<br />
<i>And</i> her hat doesn't fit.<br />
<br />
And it's a totally pointless song.<br />
<br />
Now it's Golden Earring and <i>Radar Love</i>, one of those records I've heard mentioned plenty of times without ever having encountered.<br />
<br />
If it's to win me over, the singer has to make an effort to bear less resemblance to Bono than he currently does.<br />
<br />
This is getting worryingly close to heavy metal for my enjoyment.<br />
<br />
Nope. I've decided I don't like it.<br />
<br />
Someone who doesn't care what I like is Elvis. After five weeks, he's still dead and still at Number 1. Sadly, the latter of those two facts is likely to change sooner than the former.<br />
<br />
Legs and Co are still dancing to him. They must be completely knackered by now.<br />
<br />
Here's a turn-up. We've just had the Number 1 but, instead of the play-out that we'd normally get, Ed's joined by a man in the Steve Wright envelope. Ed introduces him as, "Giorgio," a no-doubt obscure personage from Italy.<br />
<br />
Apparently, he's the man behind a song called, <i>From Here to Eternity</i>.<br />
<br />
And then, it's dawned on me.<br />
<br />
It's Giorgio Moroder!<br />
<br />
That's right, <i>Top of the Pops</i> has sandwiched Giorgio Moroder in as some sort of afterthought and not even bothered telling us his surname.<br />
<br />
To be honest, up until now it'd never occurred to me that Giorgio Moroder actually existed. I'd sort of had the notion he only existed in anecdotes, like Gloria Swanson. It's a bit of a shock to see there's actually a man behind the legend. In this sense I should probably thank <i>Top of the Pops</i> but, in another, I should probably curse them for destroying my fantasies.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-46540303779453083292012-10-18T21:08:00.000+01:002012-10-18T21:08:12.499+01:00Top of the Pops: 22nd September, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi284qqxUR1F0w9nMcVtsLeJU-pP13EsndPnE_RHd3iKC3C3eOnF18LgMNZfdnE6N0d9f225SoifM9Fg5fhQrwyKrUEZH1HTDKkOLLJQYf22ROa2SsRTkBuab1Va1M2XMUr0YgfvXJlIXM/s1600/bob+geldof+1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bob Geldof 1981" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi284qqxUR1F0w9nMcVtsLeJU-pP13EsndPnE_RHd3iKC3C3eOnF18LgMNZfdnE6N0d9f225SoifM9Fg5fhQrwyKrUEZH1HTDKkOLLJQYf22ROa2SsRTkBuab1Va1M2XMUr0YgfvXJlIXM/s1600/bob+geldof+1981.jpg" title="Bob Geldof 1981" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boomtown Rats' Bob Geldof<br />
by Helge Øverås (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0">CC-BY-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABoomtown_rats_02021981_01_300.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Thanks</span></i> to circumstances in the dim and distant future, the show may have hit rocky waters in recent weeks - but never fear, because Dave Lee Travis is here to keep things wholesome.<br />
<br />
Straight away we're hit with the inevitable <i>Magic Fly</i>. In fact, I do believe the song was actually re-titled <i>The Inevitable Magic Fly</i> halfway through its chart run, to take its <i>Top of the Pops</i> ubiquity into account.<br />
<br />
All sensible human beings love the record, of course but I am starting to wonder if someone in the band was related to the Director General. This has to be the eleventeenth week running they've been on.<br />
<br />
From a band we know so well, to one I've never heard of. And if I had I'm sure I'd remember, as they go by the unwieldy but distinctive title of Hank the Knife and the Jets.<br />
<br />
I don't like to be cruel but, so far, it's reminding me of Russ Abbott's attempts at rock and roll on his comedy show.<br />
<br />
It also sounds like they're trying to jump on the Mud bandwagon three years after it left town.<br />
<br />
There's some interesting Duane Eddyness on guitar.<br />
<br />
There's some more Duane Eddyness on guitar.<br />
<br />
In fact, I'd be so bold as to say there's too much Duane Eddyness for the good of a single record.<br />
<br />
It's all over and, despite Hank and his guitarist's best efforts, I have to give it a thumbs-down I'm afraid.<br />
<br />
DLT's back, accompanied by two young females. It's strange how everything that happens on the show seems to take on an oddly sinister air now.<br />
<br />
Someone no one could ever label sinister are on next because it's La Belle Epoque and <i>Black Is Black</i>.<br />
<br />
This is more like it. You can't beat a good bit of Boney M style Euro disco.<br />
<br />
Well, as it turns out, you can. It's all pleasant but somehow lacks the M's magic. It also, for some reason, makes me think of Eruption and how much better than this <i>their</i> big hit was.<br />
<br />
Packing more spirit than you can shake a stick at are the Stranglers, back with what has to be their greatest achievement - and one of the late 1970s' greatest records - <i>No More Heroes</i>.<br />
<br />
It's a much more focused performance than their <i>Go Buddy</i> one. None of that messing around for them this time, just unalloyed stroppiness.<br />
<br />
Showing no stroppiness at all, Legs and Co arrive to accompany <i>The Best Of My Love</i> by someone. DLT did tell us who it was but I missed it.<br />
<br />
Is it me or are those tops dangerously see-through?<br />
<br />
And yet, strangely, you can't see through them.<br />
<br />
And I say that as someone who's sat three inches away from the screen.<br />
<br />
It's almost over, and DLT's joined them on stage.<br />
<br />
He's chasing one of them.<br />
<br />
Oh dear. He's not doing the show's reputation any favours right now.<br />
<br />
Leo Sayer's back with <i>Thunder In My Heart</i>. According to Dave, I'm going to love it.<br />
<br />
I suspect I might not.<br />
<br />
Still, I like to be nothing if not open-minded, and so I shan't pass judgement until it's over.<br />
<br />
Leo's roaming around a seaside resort that I don't recognise. I'm going to assume it's either Brighton or Margate but have no reason whatsoever to think it's either.<br />
<br />
Wherever he is, Leo really does sound like he's being strangled.<br />
<br />
A helter skelter! Helter skelters are looming large in my life right now, for reasons I can't go into.<br />
<br />
But Leo's gone and I can confirm that I did indeed not enjoy it..<br />
<br />
DLT probably doesn't care about that.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Because he's back with another young woman.<br />
<br />
And now there's two more young women, as Baccara appear, with <i>Yes Sir, I can Boogie</i>.<br />
<br />
They're borrowing Donna Summer's groaning.<br />
<br />
Frankly, this is terrible. It'd be nice to say it has a kitsch charm but it doesn't. It's just dull, thinly sung and pointless.<br />
<br />
Dave's back with two more young women.<br />
<br />
The Boomtown Rats are back - without young women - and still <i>Looking After Number 1</i>.<br />
<br />
Bob does look surprisingly neat and tidy for this performance.<br />
<br />
I spot pogo-ing in the audience. This gives me great pleasure.<br />
<br />
Dave's back.<br />
<br />
With another young woman.<br />
<br />
And another young woman appears. It's Meri Wilson doing her novelty hit <i>Telephone Man</i>.<br />
<br />
I always wanted a phone like that. I wonder if you can still get them?<br />
<br />
I hated this song at the time and I hate it now. It really is is dreary.<br />
<br />
In fact, I'm bored already.<br />
<br />
But, suddenly, we get a shock.<br />
<br />
Because Dave Lee Travis isn't with a young woman.<br />
<br />
He introduces us to Stardust, yet another act I've never heard of.<br />
<br />
The singer seems to be a cross between Stan Boardman and a jar of marmalade.<br />
<br />
They might be Swedish and therefore could be cruelly labelled the band that ABBA could have been if no one had liked them but they actually sound more like that lot who were on last week - the ones who'd been in the Strawbs.<br />
<br />
Just to up the ante dramatically, Dave Lee Travis is back with <i>four</i> young women.<br />
<br />
Elvis Presley doesn't care about that. He's still dead and still at Number 1 - two things that tend to make one oblivious to scandal.<br />
<br />
And we play out with a track by Stevie Wonder that I'm totally incapable of identifying. Whatever it is, it sounds quite appealing. And I say that as someone who's not a natural fan of Stevie.<br />
<br />
To be honest, tonight's show wasn't what could be called a cracker.<br />
<br />
In fact, it was pretty sub-par, with the highlight being the Stranglers and the low-light being Stardust. Too many acts had a tired, dated or over-familiar feel to them. And, yet, too many felt deservedly <i>un</i>familiar. The warming ray of light cast upon us a couple of weeks ago feels already like a false dawn and we can only hope things liven up next week.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-19329555977362741482012-10-04T21:06:00.000+01:002012-10-04T21:06:08.979+01:00Top of the Pops: 1st September, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIfAOF4ruDj3_1AorB08AJVJgtmJpeXl2Y1kyerBEQ1EwGTByVcndCf2k06brf58QGT0x25JlaFHBcOTC8gL4FY3_lUpBQzvEdWE3mzvTJwNUAmDOVND502_nxUJ127vehRQvRSFdiSI/s1600/yvonne+elliman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yvonne Elliman 1975" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIfAOF4ruDj3_1AorB08AJVJgtmJpeXl2Y1kyerBEQ1EwGTByVcndCf2k06brf58QGT0x25JlaFHBcOTC8gL4FY3_lUpBQzvEdWE3mzvTJwNUAmDOVND502_nxUJ127vehRQvRSFdiSI/s400/yvonne+elliman.jpg" title="Yvonne Elliman, 1975" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yvonne Elliman in 1975; by Matt Gibbons<br />
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultomatt/120599196/)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0">CC-BY-2.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AYvonne_Elliman.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Last</i> </span>week brought something of a conceptual break-through into our musical lives. Will this week see the trend continue or will it be back to the mould we all hoped had been broken for good?<br />
<br />
Like a herald of the new age, Tony Blackburn welcomes us through the airwaves.<br />
<br />
And we leap straight into it with Meri Wilson and her legendary track <i>Telephone Man</i> playing over the chart countdown.<br />
<br />
I may be a dirty old man but I think I spotted a momentary moment of subtle innuendo in the lyrics there.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the innuendo doesn't last long, as we very quickly launch into... ...erm, someone.<br />
<br />
Whoever they are, they sound lively.<br />
<br />
This is all very funky. I approve of this.<br />
<br />
It has a hint of John Miles, the Bee Gees and ELO about it.<br />
<br />
Despite the seeming banality of its lyrics, this is threatening to be my favourite track ever by an opening act I've never heard of.<br />
<br />
Apparently it was by Hudson Ford. I don't even know if Hudson Ford's the singer or the band.<br />
<br />
According to Tony, it's Noel Edmonds' record of the week. No wonder I've never heard of it.<br />
<br />
But now it's someone whose career even Noel Edmonds wouldn't be able to sink because it's Yvonne Elliman with a song that's not by the Bee Gees.<br />
<br />
Admittedly, when I say it's not by the Bee Gees, I don't have a clue if it is or not but I'm assuming it isn't as it lacks their usual drama.<br />
<br />
Also lacking drama is the video, which isn't the most imaginative I've ever seen, even by the standards of its day. It's basically Yvonne motionless as the camera points at her upper half.<br />
<br />
It would seem the song's called <i>I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind</i> and I'm trying to work out if you can sing Tommy Steele's <i>Little White Bull</i> over it.<br />
<br />
I decide I'm not sure if you can.<br />
<br />
But a man who could rarely be confused with Tommy Steele is Elvis Costello who's singing <i>(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes</i> on what I believe to be his first <i>Top of the Pops</i> appearance.<br />
<br />
This makes me happy, as I was a very big fan of Elvis at the time and had been ever since I'd first seen him on TV one afternoon being interviewed by Mavis Nicholson.<br />
<br />
It's Legs and Co dancing to <i>Silver Lady</i> - my favourite David Soul track.<br />
<br />
It took me many years to realise it but this is about the Virgin Mary, isn't it?<br />
<br />
Admittedly he does call her, "Baby," at one point but David's a big star and big stars do things differently from the rest of us. He probably calls Jesus, "Dude," as well.<br />
<br />
This is exactly the sort of track Legs and Co should be dancing to. It's hard for even them to mess it up.<br />
<br />
We've got to the chorus. I'm singing along with it. The neighbourhood cats are no doubt suitably impressed. They accept me as one of their own.<br />
<br />
The acceptance of cats means more to me than life itself.<br />
<br />
Just as I say that, I lose reception again. Those dagnabbit cats. It's them. It must be. They're trying to cut me off in my prime. But, damn their vertically pupiled eyes, they won't succeed.<br />
<br />
I defeat the local cats in time for the Steve Gibbons Band to return. Is this the third time they've been on?<br />
<br />
Now it's the Jacksons and a track with which I'm unfamiliar. This is strange, as I would've thought all Jacksons singles from this era would be famous enough to grant instant recognition. It seems to be called <i>Dreamer</i> and bears some lyrical resemblances to the Supertramp song of the same name.<br />
<br />
But didn't there used to be more of the Jacksons?<br />
<br />
To be honest, this is rubbish. It's in the same league as the Floaters - and Michael's moving around too much for such a mellow song. He's starting to get on my nerves.<br />
<br />
Mink DeVille are back. After all these years, I still don't know what the Spanish bit of this song means.<br />
<br />
According to Tony; on Tuesday, David Essex starts the first of his new series. I shall be watching.<br />
<br />
Actually, I really shall. In our house, we used to watch the David Essex show and all those other programmes hosted by pop stars like Leo Sayer, Lulu and Cilla Black. I wonder if we'll ever see those days return, with the likes of Adele and Jessie J hosting middle-of-the-road TV for an audience of a certain age?<br />
<br />
The track he's doing right now seems to be called <i>Cool Out Tonight.</i><br />
<br />
To be honest I'm not a David Essex fan. Even I can spot his twinkly eyed-charm but his records always seem so wooden to me. <i>Rock On</i> was of course the exception. A genuine classic.<br />
<br />
This presumably isn't a classic, as I've never heard it played on the radio ever.<br />
<br />
Tempo change. It's all gone a bit Beatles.<br />
<br />
And now it's all gone a bit David Essex again.<br />
<br />
That guitar solo's very Pilot.<br />
<br />
But what does this song remind me of? It's driving me up the wall.<br />
<br />
It's time to pass me my Union Jack parachute because we now get Carly Simon and Legs and Co.<br />
<br />
To the surprise of no one, Elvis Presley's Number 1 with <i>Way Down</i>.<br />
<br />
Legs and Co are getting a good work-out tonight, because they're back, doing a continuation of their earlier David Soul routine. Their sheer energy gives me great pleasure although too many of their moves seem to have been taught them by a chicken.<br />
<br />
Some less than flattering photos of Elvis appear on the giant screen, one or two of which give the impression he was inflated with a bicycle pump before the photographer showed up.<br />
<br />
But enough of Elvis because we play out with <i>Magic Fly</i>.<br />
<br />
Well, apart from Elvis Costello making his debut, it was definitely a return to type for <i>Top of the Pops</i> but I did feel that, despite the anonymous nature of many of its songs, it did get away with it.<br />
<br />
And how ironic that Elvis Costello should make his first appearance just as the other Elvis was checking out.<br />
<br />
A better man than me would be able to find symbolism in that.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-85074693797406691592012-09-27T21:07:00.000+01:002012-09-27T21:07:02.340+01:00Top of the Pops: 25th August, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyug6zQ0O4-wMhLlik8aSdZXJtNU0oRKxznTty2Nl5bOF8evvJ8-LQdBiXMPEWZWchZb1yDYQsFH04PCMA9tTr4BWZWESV1_KRL2md6QHC0XMx1aXiOl2SrjUBUxoLtPP3Osf0K-Uaw7o/s1600/Boomtown+Rats+Knotts+Berry+Farm+1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats at Knotts Berry Farm, 1981" border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyug6zQ0O4-wMhLlik8aSdZXJtNU0oRKxznTty2Nl5bOF8evvJ8-LQdBiXMPEWZWchZb1yDYQsFH04PCMA9tTr4BWZWESV1_KRL2md6QHC0XMx1aXiOl2SrjUBUxoLtPP3Osf0K-Uaw7o/s400/Boomtown+Rats+Knotts+Berry+Farm+1981.jpg" title="Boomtown Rats, 1981" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boomtown Rats in 1981. Author unknown;<br />
Photo courtesy Orange County Archives<br />
[Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATheBoomtownRatsKBF1981.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span></i> little bird tells me that tonight's show sees the <i>Top of the Pops</i> debuts of two very memorable acts.<br />
<br />
Will we get to see them in full? Or will one of them be relegated to a thirty second slot, playing over the chart rundown, while the other gets stuck on the play-out ?<br />
<br />
More to the point, will I actually be able to get through an edition without losing my reception?<br />
<br />
Only Noel Edmonds can tell us.<br />
<br />
And tell us he does - because the rundown music is by no debutante. It's by Donna Summer, with <i>Down Deep Inside</i>. Was this the theme tune to Peter Benchley's <i>The Deep</i>, or am I going completely mad?<br />
<br />
Whatever it's from, she's sounding extremely tired as she sings it; loads of moaning, groaning and sighing. I think she needs a good lie down.<br />
<br />
Eddie and the Hot Rods certainly don't. Why? Because The Bloke Who Isn't Eddie's full of bounce.<br />
<br />
You can tell he's the authentic voice of punk. He keeps getting too close to the camera.<br />
<br />
But who can believe it? The audience are actually showing an interest and are actually moving.<br />
<br />
Could it be? Could the segment of the nation represented by <i>Top of the Pops</i> finally have embraced the new music that's forced Kid Jensen into endless euphemisms these past few weeks?<br />
<br />
A man who forces no euphemisms is the highest new entry. It's Elvis Presley. I bet he was excited when he found out about that.<br />
<br />
This doesn't seem to be a very highly regarded song but, as a non-Presley fan, I've always liked it.<br />
<br />
But Legs and Co are looking far too cheery to be dancing to a song that's only on the charts because its singer's dead.<br />
<br />
And why do they insist on pointing upwards when he sings, "Way on down"?<br />
<br />
There's no time to ponder that because it's the first of those memorable acts I mentioned.<br />
<br />
It's the Boomtown Rats.<br />
<br />
They're doing <i>Looking After Number One</i>.<br />
<br />
They don't seem to be taken very seriously these days but, to some of us, they were a breath of fresh air at the time.<br />
<br />
First Eddie and the Hot Rods. Now the Boomtown Rats. The <i>Top of the Pops</i>' times really are a-changing.<br />
<br />
Like The Bloke Who's Not Called Eddie, Bob keeps getting too close to the camera.<br />
<br />
And, as with The Bloke Who's Not Called Eddie, the audience are joining in with Bob.<br />
<br />
I'm not. But that's only because I've just lost reception.<br />
<br />
What is it? Every week this happens. Are Elkie Brooks fans trying to block transmission to this house in a desperate attempt to stop me posting my always wrong opinions on her?<br />
<br />
Whatever the truth of the matter, they won't succeed. I'm determined to inflict my irrelevant drivel on this land, no matter what it takes.<br />
<br />
I'm back and the Rats have gone, replaced by a woman whose identity I'm not sure of. Is it Deniece Williams?<br />
<br />
Whoever she is, she's wearing my curtains and singing what appears to be <i>That's What Friends Are For</i>.<br />
<br />
It <i>is</i> Deniece Williams. My knowledge of pop never ceases to amaze me.<br />
<br />
Thin Lizzy never cease to amaze me either. How many times can they be on with the same song?<br />
<br />
Like Not Eddie and Bob, Phil's also too close to the camera.<br />
<br />
Has he got a black eye or is it just makeup?<br />
<br />
Someone must have put something in the audience's coffee tonight because they're even bobbing around to this one, creating an effect strangely redolent of Wings' video to <i>With a Little Luck</i>, only with teenagers instead of children.<br />
<br />
Is that John Helliwell from Supertramp on sax?<br />
<br />
Look at<i> me</i>. I can even identify sax players. I'm like the new Paul Gambaccini.<br />
<br />
Now it's Space and <i>Magic Fly</i>.<br />
<br />
I used to have a space helmet like that. I used to pretend it was a portable TV.<br />
<br />
Actually, my space helmet was better. It said, "<i>NASA,</i>"on it and had a fake microphone that didn't do anything.<br />
<br />
I got mine in 1969, eight years before Space got theirs. Take that, pop stars.<br />
<br />
But now it's the second of the memorable acts I mentioned.<br />
<br />
It's the Adverts and <i>Gary Gilmore's Eyes</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Gary Gilmore's Eyes</i> and <i>Looking After Number One</i> are the first punk songs the show's featured that I remember from when they came out. I suppose this means this is the week punk's finally arrived for me.<br />
<br />
I never noticed before that this sounds like the <i>Monster Mash</i>.<br />
<br />
And the audience are bobbing again.<br />
<br />
Unlike Gaye Advert who looks suitably disinterested.<br />
<br />
The Adverts depart and I miss Noel's intro to the next act, meaning that, so far, I don't have a clue who it is.<br />
<br />
It's a strange woman who's borrowed her hair from Rula Lenska and her wardrobe from Suzanne Danielle<br />
<br />
Whoever she is, she can't sing.<br />
<br />
She looks like someone I used to know at school. Actually, she looks <i>exactly</i> like someone I knew at school.<br />
<br />
It's all over and, apparently, she and her equally tone deaf friends were called Page Three.<br />
<br />
And just to drag us all down completely from the show's previous highs, the Floaters are somehow at Number 1.<br />
<br />
I wonder why luminous blues suits went out of fashion?<br />
<br />
As we contemplate that mystery, we play out with Jean Michel Jarre and what I think is <i>Oxygene</i>, meaning we've had two foreign instrumentals in one show - the show in which Noel Edmonds declared it's rare to get instrumentals on the chart.<br />
<br />
So it's all over and you can't get away from it, it was a show in which the bracing wind of modernity was unmissable. Instead of the usual rubbish, we got not one but three songs that could be called punk. We got two euro synth instrumentals. We got Thin Lizzy who were hardly new music but certainly weren't traditional <i>Top of the Pops</i> fare and we got Donna Summer.<br />
<br />
Page Three and the Floaters aside, it has to represent a jolting leap into what was then the present, a reminder that the 1970s were nearing their end and a whole new musical age was inescapably looming into view.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-34792943990567688662012-09-20T20:52:00.001+01:002012-09-20T20:52:48.984+01:00Top of the Pops: 18th August, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUkHYPqOZvyOup4D7P9P9RDi89f29kUXCS8iJdxV8MNQ5wDO4gIWoNhP1Lm5I8QPg7b_Ros65siCFVmkOfQ3rvFqVxK_iKGGqz80hN_jJcJqFwVN7otFZ2sSpt8mxWOyTn9mNl7Q1IHY/s1600/fingals+cave+scotland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUkHYPqOZvyOup4D7P9P9RDi89f29kUXCS8iJdxV8MNQ5wDO4gIWoNhP1Lm5I8QPg7b_Ros65siCFVmkOfQ3rvFqVxK_iKGGqz80hN_jJcJqFwVN7otFZ2sSpt8mxWOyTn9mNl7Q1IHY/s400/fingals+cave+scotland.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't find a decent Free-Use pic of any of tonight's acts,<br />
so here's a lovely photo of Fingal's Cave in Staffa, Scotland.<br />
By <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Velela" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Velela</a> (Public Domain).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Never</i></span> one to waste time, Dave Lee Travis flings us straight into it with the chart countdown and the Stranglers doing <i>Something Better Change</i>.<br />
<br />
What with Jonathan Richman last week and the Stranglers this, the BBC have clearly decided the countdown is the best place to put the "challenging" songs.<br />
<br />
But, for the serious music lover, nothing could be more challenging than the Dooleys - and they're up next, with something or other.<br />
<br />
I must admit my memories of the Dooleys are vague. While I have strongish recall of the music, in terms of what they looked like I think I may have spent the last thirty-odd years mixing them up with Liquid Gold.<br />
<br />
Upon re-acquaintance with them, they're not the most glamorous outfit I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
Nor are they <i>wearing</i> the most glamorous outfits I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
But the Dooleys depart and - hooray - it's the act some of us have been waiting all year for.<br />
<br />
It's the Floaters - and <i>Float On</i>.<br />
<br />
Has there ever been a band with a more unfortunate name? Has there ever been a band whose only hit was more lampoonable?<br />
<br />
And, for that matter, how exactly <i>does</i> one, "Float on?"<br />
<br />
Charles likes a woman who's quiet.<br />
<br />
Paul's fussy. He likes all the women of the world.<br />
<br />
While Larry - funny how he's the one who's lingered longest in the memory - likes a woman who loves everyone and everybody.<br />
<br />
What a desperate bunch of men they turned out to be.<br />
<br />
I wonder if Elkie Brooks would've been impressed by Larry? She's on now, doing <i>Since You Went Away</i>.<br />
<br />
All respect to Elkie, who we established several months ago is a seething volcano of female sexuality but I'm already starting to get bored with her.<br />
<br />
Now it's Mink DeVille. For some reason I always get them mixed up with the aforementioned Jonathan Richman.<br />
<br />
I've never seen them before and they don't look like I expected. I always thought they'd look like the Cars.<br />
<br />
Actually, this does sound more like <i>My Best Friend's Girl</i> than I ever noticed before. In fact, I think you can sing <i>My Best Friend's Girl</i> right over the top of it.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the singer seems to be in a different group from the rest of the band.<br />
<br />
Despite all their best efforts, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion this is rubbish.<br />
<br />
What's on next certainly isn't.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Because it's Carly Simon and my favouritest ever James Bond theme. Who can listen to this song without at once being transported back to a magical time of cars that turn into submarines, and giants with metal teeth? And how many songs can you say that about?<br />
<br />
Not so hooray! Carly's being danced to by Legs and Co.<br />
<br />
Those are interesting outfits they're wearing. They look like Dale Arden in full-on Mongo gear.<br />
<br />
In fact, if Hela - the goddess of death from Thor - joined Legs and Co, that's exactly the look she'd go for.<br />
<br />
As Hela's a bit of a role model of mine, that realisation quickly convinces me this is a good look.<br />
<br />
I would say I really don't have a clue what the dance has to do with the song but I say that every week, so I won't. But I can say their aimless physical meanderings have managed the seemingly impossible and drained away all my enthusiasm for the song.<br />
<br />
We're back to Dave Lee Travis and he's with a woman whose top proclaims the word, "Midge." Is she an Ultravox fan who's got to the studio too early or a Slik fan who's got there too late?<br />
<br />
Danny Williams is back, with the Martini music.<br />
<br />
He still looks like someone who'd sell you something dodgy on a street corner - although I'm sure he's not really.<br />
<br />
The Rah Band are back for what seems like the millionth time, and still failing to convince me that balaclavas are a good look for a pop star.<br />
<br />
I've lost reception again. Why does this happen every week at this time? It's like someone's trying to jam my signal in an effort to ruin my enjoyment.<br />
<br />
I'm back in time for a woman singing the Bee Gees' <i>Nights on Broadway</i>. My finely tuned knowledge of popular music tells me she might be Candi Staton.<br />
<br />
But I've lost my reception again...<br />
<br />
...and suddenly I'm confronted by the Jam and <i>All Around the World</i>, leading me to conclude that Candi can't have been on for long.<br />
<br />
I've come to the decision that this isn't one of the Jam's best, but they are at least doing their best to liven up what's been a somewhat moribund edition.<br />
<br />
Someone you could never call moribund are the Brotherhood of Man. They even manage to make Mexican suicides sound like fun. Not only that but they're suddenly at Number 1, with <i>Angelo</i>.<br />
<br />
But, hold on a moment. Hasn't this been out for months and months and months? They must've been on <i>Top of the Pops</i> at least a million times doing it already. Just how long did it take to reach the top spot?<br />
<br />
No doubt lacking all interest in such conundra, Space play us out with <i>Magic Fly</i>. Or is it Magic Fly playing us out with <i>Space</i>? I was never sure which it was but, whatever it's called and whoever it's by, like <i>Nobody Does it Better</i>, this is one of the tracks I most strongly associate with 1977.<br />
<br />
It was an oddly disjointed show, veering awkwardly between the likes of the Jam and the Stranglers and the likes of the Floaters and the Dooleys. If any show demonstrates that 1977 saw a nation musically divided then it has to have been this one.<br />
<br />
It'd be nice to say the contrast was invigorating but it proved to be more frustrating, as the serious groups drained all fun from proceedings, as the sillier groups drained all gravitas from them. Could this be the fate of British music from now on? To be hopelessly fractured beyond consolidation?<br />
<br />
Only time - and possibly 1978 - will be able to tell us.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-63774310699257995222012-09-13T20:54:00.000+01:002012-09-13T20:54:06.945+01:00Top of the Pops: 11th August, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXtJ_BelIKwKo6dnZ45K-2fPDwHdol6Oxoc_cpuMa-JDLCwXRGzfZic39-73Lg05WHmHU_Tb3CLzGugyBWDDA7Xp3vBZddKvcTYcWVHUVLWM2N1EQVBTKcgt_p7V5Ady6NuXEdLki8xk/s1600/Thin+Lizzy+1980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy playing live on stage, 1980" border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXtJ_BelIKwKo6dnZ45K-2fPDwHdol6Oxoc_cpuMa-JDLCwXRGzfZic39-73Lg05WHmHU_Tb3CLzGugyBWDDA7Xp3vBZddKvcTYcWVHUVLWM2N1EQVBTKcgt_p7V5Ady6NuXEdLki8xk/s320/Thin+Lizzy+1980.jpg" title="Phil Lynott, Thin LIzzy 1980" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott; by Helge Øverås (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0">CC-BY-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThin_lizzy_22041980_01_400.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">As</span></i> the nights start to draw in and we begin to say goodbye to the summer, we plunge straight into the sunset with Kid Jensen who introduces us to Jonathan Richman and his Modern Lovers.<br />
<br />
Sadly, Jonathan's not able to be with us tonight and so we just get to hear him played over the countdown.<br />
<br />
I don't care how time-saving such a move may be, it's still not right to hear anything that's not a theme tune performing such a function.<br />
<br />
Not only that but its use as the intro music means we don't even get to hear the whole of the song, even though Kid tells us it's this week's highest climber.<br />
<br />
I have no doubt we will however get to hear the whole of Showaddywaddy.<br />
<br />
This is a good thing, as they might not be musical heavyweights but they do know how to do <i>Top of the Pops</i>. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they're the quintessential <i>Top of the Pop</i>s group.<br />
<br />
Are Dave's flies undone?<br />
<br />
That's definitely not <i>Quintessential Top of the Pops</i>.<br />
<br />
Neither are the Steve Gibbons Band. Assuming, as always, that the singer's the eponymous Steve, he looks to have been round the block a few times too many for that.<br />
<br />
Kid clearly doesn't care. He's happily dancing along in the background.<br />
<br />
I wonder if Status Quo ever did a cover of this? You could imagine they would have.<br />
<br />
Barry Biggs is back, what seems like months since his last appearance, but still doing the same song as before.<br />
<br />
But now hooray! It's Eddie and the Hot Rods with <i>Do Anything You Wanna Do</i> - even though Kid seems to think they're just called The Rods.<br />
<br />
This has to be one of the greatest pop songs of the late 1970s; the closest Britain's ever produced to its own version of <i>Born to Run</i>. Quite frankly, anyone who doesn't like this has to have something wrong with them.<br />
<br />
They're getting close to the spirit of punk, even if they have see-through drums.<br />
<br />
Not getting anywhere near to punk are Legs and Co who're on next, dancing to Rita Coolidge.<br />
<br />
They seem to be doing some sort of corrupted Gap Band type dance. I hope everyone at home's joining in with it. I know I am even though I'm on my own.<br />
<br />
I really don't know what this dance has to do with the song, and I'm missing Rita's cactus.<br />
<br />
A band who're so good they can get by even without the aid of a cactus are Thin Lizzy who're still dancing in the moonlight.<br />
<br />
As always, halfway through the show, I've lost my reception.<br />
<br />
When it comes back, as always I'm confronted by someone I don't recognise.<br />
<br />
Whoever he is, he seems to be in the Labi Siffre envelope, though I say that as someone who doesn't have a clue what the Labi Siffre envelope is.<br />
<br />
No problems of recognition with the next act. It's Fleetwood Mac doing <i>Dreams</i>.<br />
<br />
This isn't good news, as the only Fleetwood Mac song I like is <i>Tusk</i>.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong. It's not that I actively dislike any of their other tracks. It's just that, pleasant though they are, they just make me start to nod off after a minute or so.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, Stevie Nicks is looking nice.<br />
<br />
John McVie's looking like that impressionist, the one with the long nose who does all the sports people but never looks like any of them.<br />
<br />
Lindsey Buckingham's looking like Jeff Lynne.<br />
<br />
Between them they could start their own lookalikes agency. Admittedly Stevie Nicks would have to work as a Stevie Nicks lookalike but I like to feel she could pull it off. She really does look remarkably like herself.<br />
<br />
But I do wish they'd liven themselves up a bit. Does this song actually go anywhere? It just seems to meander endlessly, like someone doing the feather dusting.<br />
<br />
Now it's another act I've never heard of - JALN.<br />
<br />
The intro sounds like <i>Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes</i>. Could it be that Paul Simon wasn't being as original as we thought when he did <i>Graceland</i>?<br />
<br />
My god, this is bad.<br />
<br />
It sounds like something from a children's show.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Donna Summer's photo's still Number 1.<br />
<br />
Kid, give up on the whole, "Good Love," thing. I can say this as someone living thirty five years in the future, it's just never going to work.<br />
<br />
More importantly, there's no play-out this week - and that means no Boney M. For a seasoned fan of The M, like me, that's almost enough grounds to throw my TV out the window.<br />
<br />
So it's all over, and there's no doubt about it, Eddie and the Hot Rods bestrode the show like colossi. So much so that I'm straight off to Youtube to listen to them all over again.<br />
<br />
The Jam didn't manage to make me do that, the Stranglers didn't manage to make me do that, Showaddywaddy didn't manage to make me do that but Eddie - and Eddie alone - has. If that doesn't prove the Hot Rods deserve a place in music history, I don't know what would.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-84800429232307696262012-08-29T20:58:00.002+01:002012-09-12T12:55:43.260+01:00Top of the Pops: 28th July, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0mdc5ZpqU2pROI9uzCeRaHJ_MDnykK7lxxY3z4cIvg7T_riptKCJi3h9py1jryF48-Km8-oNJIfEK47hRUbJIUztFWtuk4WIejYug-M1oRQQA4xmbO5bXsoMbg1VUoaQkbcMy3xQQR0/s1600/Rita_Coolidge,_2002_-_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rita Coolidge live and holding a microphone, 2002" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0mdc5ZpqU2pROI9uzCeRaHJ_MDnykK7lxxY3z4cIvg7T_riptKCJi3h9py1jryF48-Km8-oNJIfEK47hRUbJIUztFWtuk4WIejYug-M1oRQQA4xmbO5bXsoMbg1VUoaQkbcMy3xQQR0/s1600/Rita_Coolidge,_2002_-_cropped.jpg" title="Rita Coolidge, 2002" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rita Coolidge, 2002<br />
By Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle,<br />
WA; crop by Jmabel<br />
(Rita Coolidge, 2002Uploaded by Jmabel)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0">CC-BY-2.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARita_Coolidge%2C_2002_-_cropped.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's </span></i>that magical time of week again. And we leap straight into it with Noel Edmonds giving us the incredible Steve Gibbons Band.<br />
<br />
No. I don't know who the incredible Steve Gibbons Band are either.<br />
<br />
I do though recognise this song, even if it's one I don't know the title of.<br />
<br />
Is the singer the eponymous Steve Gibbons? If so, Steve's wearing leather trousers. It takes a certain kind of man to get away with leather trousers. And, fair play to him, I think he might just be managing it.<br />
<br />
The guitarist has leather trousers too. How many cows had to die to make this performance possible?<br />
<br />
It quickly becomes clear that Steve - if Steve he is - is like a version of Shakin' Stevens from that <i>Star Trek</i> universe where everyone's the opposite of how they are in <i>our</i> universe. This means he's from a universe where Shakin' Stevens is cool.<br />
<br />
Noel's back and it turns out the song was either called <i>Too Late</i> or <i>Too Lame</i>. I suspect it was the former.<br />
<br />
Now we get the countdown accompanied by <i>Feel the</i> <i>Need in Me</i>.<br />
<br />
Somehow, without <i>Whole Lotta Love</i>, the countdown's totally robbed of its power to excite.<br />
<br />
Someone who'll never fail to excite are Boney M and, at last, after endless appearances on the play-out, they're finally allowed on the show itself.<br />
<br />
My finely-honed senses tell me they're not actually in the <i>Top of the Pops</i> studio but are instead on one of those weird European shows you see clips of on Youtube, ones that usually feature David Bowie or Toyah performing to a totally baffled looking bunch of Bavarians.<br />
<br />
This time, the audience don't look baffled but do look anomalously mature beyond their years and have their backs to the act. What kind of director thought having the audience facing away from the entertainment would be a good idea?<br />
<br />
But no one with any sense cares about that. All that matters to the connoisseur is Bobby.<br />
<br />
And, needless to say, Bobby's getting well and truly stuck into it. You can stuff your ABBA. <i>This</i> was the greatest band of the 1970s.<br />
<br />
Not far behind them are Showaddywaddy, the next act on, with <i>You Got What it Takes</i>.<br />
<br />
You have to say it, the forces of punk are being well and truly repulsed tonight.<br />
<br />
Romeo seems to be nowhere in sight. Have they sacked him?<br />
<br />
Oh. No. There he is, off to one side, hiding behind that blue drum kit.<br />
<br />
Legs and Co are on next, dancing to Jonathan Richman and <i>Roadrunner</i>.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure quite what kind of car that's supposed to be but I'm not sure the wheels are in the right place.<br />
<br />
I used to really like this song.<br />
<br />
Listening to it now, I'm not sure why.<br />
<br />
Neither am I sure that what Legs are doing really constitutes dancing so much as randomly moving around. Was there actually any rehearsal involved in this "routine"?<br />
<br />
Bob Marley's back with what feels like his millionth performance of <i>Exxidass</i>.<br />
<br />
And a wooden stake is well and truly plunged into the heart of punk with the return of Dana<br />
<br />
This is all very pleasant. I always thought she only had one hit. What a fool I was.<br />
<br />
But who'd have thought that, within three years of this, Sheena Easton would have so totally doppelganged Dana as to have completely taken her place in our national consciousness?<br />
<br />
Emerson Lake and Palmer are back with probably the worst Olympic opening ceremony ever.<br />
<br />
And now Rita Coolidge returns, surviving possibly the worst joke even Noel Edmonds has ever cracked.<br />
<br />
After all these decades, it's just dawned on me that I actually don't have a clue what this song's about.<br />
<br />
I do at least know what Thin Lizzy are on about as they give us <i>Dancing in the Moonlight</i>. This is much better than the song they were doing on their last appearance - the one Noel Edmonds cheerfully admits he thought would reach Number 1.<br />
<br />
There's half-hearted dancing going on on the stage - and for once it's not being done by Legs and Co.<br />
<br />
For the second week running, I've lost reception during a vital part of the show.<br />
<br />
I get it back in time to see a photo of Donna Summer on a giant screen as the <i>Top of the Pops</i> audience dance along to <i>I Feel Love</i>.<br />
<br />
Legs and Co are still in their Jonathan Richman car and still looking totally unrehearsed. Despite the track and all the dancing that's going on, it's not exactly wild.<br />
<br />
So, there we have it, the week when Boney M finally got the chance to prove themselves supreme, and Legs and Co got to prove themselves not supreme. It wasn't a vintage week but I enjoyed all the acts you're not supposed to and I discovered I didn't like one act you <i>are</i> supposed to. I suppose this counts as surprise - and surprise is a good thing. Therefore, despite its general lack of excitement, I give this week's edition a cautious thumbs up.<br />
<br />
I do pray, though, for the return of CCS. It's simply not <i>Top of the Pops</i> without them.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-87669720629886893222012-08-22T20:51:00.001+01:002012-09-12T12:56:17.888+01:00Top of the Pops: 21st July, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4_5-VQy8n0Jylk-FmN5xekeOzTS3-4EUbzc4ZLVhGLFArX8ty494ydP4BwYozFPjV5UteFP-ttwqUB6pfkrIl7Rth6MZNhbzPCTDHRkD4LqrXZxeIg_IC6iZdoyzkULr8zkE3F4Q2G0/s1600/796px-Stonehenge-England.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4_5-VQy8n0Jylk-FmN5xekeOzTS3-4EUbzc4ZLVhGLFArX8ty494ydP4BwYozFPjV5UteFP-ttwqUB6pfkrIl7Rth6MZNhbzPCTDHRkD4LqrXZxeIg_IC6iZdoyzkULr8zkE3F4Q2G0/s400/796px-Stonehenge-England.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the absence of any decent Free-Use images of any of tonight's acts, here's<br />
a lovely picture of Stonehenge, which has no doubt been the venue for<br />
much rock music over the years.<br />
By Guenter Wieschendahl (own work--eigene Aufnahme)<br />
[Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStonehenge-England.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's</span></i> raining so hard outside I can barely hear my television.<br />
<br />
Will this reduce my enjoyment of tonight's show?<br />
<br />
Like heck it will. I like to think that even total deafness couldn't put a dent in my appreciation of what's about to transpire.<br />
<br />
And I like to think that, were he here, Dave Lee Travis would agree with me too.<br />
<br />
But he's not here.<br />
<br />
He's too busy guiding us through the puddles of history.<br />
<br />
Those puddles produce their first splash with John Miles bringing his tubetastic brand of groovetasm into our living rooms, for one more spin.<br />
<br />
By the looks of him, he's still celebrating the release of Keith Lemon's new movie but I don't care about no dirty stinking movies. I don't need to, not when I have John Miles.<br />
<br />
Now John's finished and, in a shock development, Dave tells us the chart rundown's been delayed.<br />
<br />
It's just been delayed even more because, in an even shocker development, I've lost my signal.<br />
<br />
Can our hero get it back before he misses the entire show?<br />
<br />
Too right he can because it's back already.<br />
<br />
But I've missed the entire rundown and am confronted by the Brotherhood of Man doing <i>Angelo</i> for what feels like the sixteenth week running.<br />
<br />
Suddenly the Man are gone and the Jam are back and as angry as ever.<br />
<br />
I don't think I've ever heard this song before but it seems, from what they're singing, that it might be called <i>All Round The World</i>.<br />
<br />
Paul and Bruce are trading vocals. It's easy to forget how much more prominent Bruce was in the group's early days than he became later.<br />
<br />
It might not have been one of the Jam's more played hits but it certainly livened things up a bit.<br />
<br />
Alessi are back.<br />
<br />
Seeing them follow the Jam is like watching one of those old public information films where they used to put out a chip pan fire by throwing a damp dishcloth over it.<br />
<br />
It suddenly strikes me that they bear an unlikely resemblance to Henry Winkler.<br />
<br />
The trouble is, with their tendency to keep glancing across at each other as they sing, it does give the impression they're singing a love song to each other, which is a very strange effect, especially when the main Alessi starts going on about making love together.<br />
<br />
A group who never needed a second invitation to make love to each other are Fleetwood Mac who appear as if from nowhere with a song whose title I can't remember.<br />
<br />
It's all very pleasant, and undoubtedly quality music, but I could never really get into Fleetwood Mac. I just always wanted them to shout a bit or smash their instruments or just do anything that'd suggest they were fully conscious while playing.<br />
<br />
The Rah Band are back.<br />
<br />
It's hard to believe that look never caught on.<br />
<br />
But now it's Danny Williams with another look I won't be copying down the disco on Friday night.<br />
<br />
His name seems to be a composite of ex-Barnsley Football Club manager Danny Wilson and ex-Barnsley comedian Charlie Williams. Clearly the force of Barnsley is strong in this one.<br />
<br />
Not that you'd know it, as he seems to have acquired his outfit by mugging Huggy Bear and stealing his clothes.<br />
<br />
My razor-sharp senses detect that this is the old Martini advert music.<br />
<br />
Queen are back with <i>Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy</i>.<br />
<br />
Much more excitingly than that, Donna Summer's powered her way to Number 1.<br />
<br />
But she's not in the studio. Instead we get Legs and Co doing their best to capture the untrammelled eroticism that got <i>I Feel Love</i> banned from many a radio station.<br />
<br />
To be honest, I'm not sure they're succeeding. There's a limit to how erotic you can seem by flapping a bit of your skirt around in a state of staccato chasteness.<br />
<br />
Argh! No! It's tear-your-hair-out-time again, as for the zillionth occasion, Boney M are relegated to the play-out slot.<br />
<br />
What was it with the producer never letting the M onto the show? Had Bobby run over his cat or something?<br />
<br />
The BBC of 1977 have been warned, if the M aren't allowed on next week's show, quite frankly, I'm not sure I can be held accountable for my actions.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-37915192166003026752012-08-08T21:13:00.000+01:002012-08-08T21:13:52.084+01:00Top of the Pops: 14th July, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTwG7ZX9KSKaX4BoGgE6OVQI_MxLxds1BGzx_jPW44-8uJgBA0icKC5xFy_u54JPg_uAZXcwH4QLHHZ1nctH3gylEztqdbQ-mHQPe8D6ySsnFMA2dSghJQF5KVxYbBqA0xyzzQh0HZL4/s1600/dave+edmunds+1980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dave Edmunds 1980" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTwG7ZX9KSKaX4BoGgE6OVQI_MxLxds1BGzx_jPW44-8uJgBA0icKC5xFy_u54JPg_uAZXcwH4QLHHZ1nctH3gylEztqdbQ-mHQPe8D6ySsnFMA2dSghJQF5KVxYbBqA0xyzzQh0HZL4/s400/dave+edmunds+1980.jpg" title="Dave Edmunds 1980" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Edmunds by Canada Jack aka Jeremy Gilbert<br />
(Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0<br />
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)<br />
or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Like</span></i> Usain Bolt on speed, the nation's favourite music show flings itself into action and we launch straight into it with Kid Jensen giving us an intro I didn't understand, before we get the first act of the evening.<br />
<br />
Is it the Real Thing? <br />
<br />
It doesn't seem to be. <br />
<br />
There seems to be one too few of them.<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
Hold on.<br />
<br />
I think it <i>is</i> the Real Thing. I 'd recognise that nipple-bearing dress-sense anywhere.<br />
<br />
Although now convinced it is indeed the Real Thing, I sadly don't recognise the song. My guess, from what they keep singing, is it's called <i>Love's Such A Wonderful Thing</i>.<br />
<br />
Someone who'd no doubt concur is Rita Coolidge and what Kid tells us is the Boz Scaggs song <i>We're All Alone</i>.<br />
<br />
It's weird that, up until now, I never even knew what this track was called but it's one of a handful of songs I automatically associate with 1977, along with Magic Fly and <i>Nobody Does It Better</i>.<br />
<br />
Now it's the Saints, from Australia, and <i>This Perfect Day</i>. It's punk but from the wrong side of the world.<br />
<br />
How weird that the first genuinely punky sounding thing to ever appear on <i>Top of the Pops</i> is by an unknown Australian band who don't even look like punks.<br />
<br />
As if to celebrate this conceptual breakthrough, there's someone in the audience sort of pogoing.<br />
<br />
Now it's Legs and Co dancing to <i>Easy Like Sunday Morning</i> by the Commodores. I always thought this came out a couple of years later.<br />
<br />
Dave Edmunds is back with <i>I Knew The Bride When She used To Rock And Roll</i>. Nick Lowe looking vaguely like a Ramone. <br />
<br />
“If you were wondering what happened to Jigsaw,” says Kid. I know I was. I've not been able to sleep at night for worrying about it.<br />
<br />
In fact I wasn't. I've never heard of them but, whoever they are, they're back again.<br />
<br />
It quickly becomes clear just what happened to them. They were busy visiting their singer in hospital after he got his nadgers destroyed by an industrial-strength vice. It's the only possible explanation for that singing voice. He manages to make the Bee Gees sound like Barry White.<br />
<br />
On reflection, did Jigsaw do that song that goes, "You've blown it all sky high," or was that someone else?<br />
<br />
Whatever the case, with their <i>New Faces</i> manner, they do seem strangely like a band out of time.<br />
<br />
Then again, so did Supertramp and that didn't stop them having their greatest commercial successes at a time when they should have been at their least fashionable. This time they're on with <i>Give A Little Bit</i> which is one of my Supertramp favourites.<br />
<br />
Roger Hodgson still looks like Jesus and still sounds like Roddy McDowall.<br />
<br />
Argh! They didn't play the ending. I love the ending.<br />
<br />
But now the unexpected's hit me between the eyes because it's Cilla Black.<br />
<br />
Without having yet heard it I suspect that, like the Supertramp song, my favourite bit of this is going to be the end – though not necessarily for the same reasons.<br />
<br />
But it is bizarre to see Cilla Black on <i>Top of the Pops</i> in the late 1970s, especially as the song sounds like it was recorded in the 1960s.<br />
<br />
A band who could only have been from the 1970s are the Sex Pistols, making their debut with <i>Pretty Vacant</i>, the song they wrote for the Olympic opening ceremony. How angry will they be when they realise they were beaten onto <i>Top of the Pops</i> by the Saints? I bet John Lydon's still bitter to this very day.<br />
<br />
It's weird that, after all this time, they seem strangely like a boy band. <br />
<br />
So now <i>Top of the Pops</i> does the obvious segue from the Sex Pistols to Kenny Rogers, giving us one of the show's legendary blink-and-you'll-miss-it interviews. It's a noticeably longer interview than we're used to and tells us more about our hero than usual but not anything that's likely to change our lives.<br />
<br />
Seemingly not having had their lives changed at all since last week, Hot Chocolate are still Number 1 with <i>So You Win Again</i>, and Errol's still wearing his amulet of power.<br />
<br />
Kid gives us his, “Good Love,” sign-off and we play out with Emerson Lake and Palmer. <br />
<br />
So, I think we learned two valuable lessons from tonight's show. 1, that Australia was the true heartland of punk and, 2, that Kid Jensen won't give up on it until the entire nation's saying, "Good Love," to each other.<br />
<br />
Somehow I suspect he's going to have a very long wait.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-4917704120129101482012-08-01T21:03:00.001+01:002012-08-02T10:33:00.371+01:00Top of the Pops: 7th July, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczzVTypDOx7QqwzCfbQi_vmrbXKUpXw-TbkKMEDOqrOueGDTwAlEHOBT85DqJKEt0ODIzHwxvLxT9q1ElQYExXwNNTMjq_9dhdvqvIiHtmxxT6gvJ4naEw95B65G-8tIYgPSiYOMtZEo/s1600/Boney+M+1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Boney M, 1981" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczzVTypDOx7QqwzCfbQi_vmrbXKUpXw-TbkKMEDOqrOueGDTwAlEHOBT85DqJKEt0ODIzHwxvLxT9q1ElQYExXwNNTMjq_9dhdvqvIiHtmxxT6gvJ4naEw95B65G-8tIYgPSiYOMtZEo/s400/Boney+M+1981.jpg" title="Boney M, 1981" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boney M by TROS<br />
(Beeld en Geluidwiki - Gallery: Showbizzquiz)<br />
[CC-BY-SA-3.0-nl<br />
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses<br />
/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Last</span></i> Friday night's <a href="http://stevedoescomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/steve-does-olympics.html" target="_blank">Olympic opening ceremony</a> magnificently proved to me the UK has a musical heritage to be proud of.<br />
<br />
I have faith that this week's <i>Top of the Pops 1977</i> will do its level best to prove we don't.<br />
<br />
Not that Tony Blackburn cares about that. He's too busy introducing us to this week's chart.<br />
<br />
What he doesn't introduce us to is the opening act.<br />
<br />
Fortunately I don't need him to. With my vast knowledge of popular music, I know the act to be someone with a keyboard.<br />
<br />
When the director shows us who's actually playing that keyboard, that's when I'm in trouble because, as always with the first act of each edition, I don't have a clue who it is.<br />
<br />
It's all a bit glam rock. <br />
<br />
It's all a bit Goldfrapp.<br />
<br />
Whoever it is, they look like the world's worst-dressed terrorist organisation.<br />
<br />
I take it the keyboard player's a producer pretending to be a group. And I'm not at all convinced that any of the others are really playing those instruments.<br />
<br />
Tony finally comes to my rescue and tells me it's the Rah Band. Were they the people who did <i>Clouds Across the Moon?</i><br />
<br />
Olivia Newton-John's back.<br />
<br />
Sadly for her, Sam's not. She's still sat there pining for him. “Sam, Sam, you know where I am,” she bemoans.<br />
<br />
Of course he does, woman. You never move. You've been sat there for weeks. That's probably why he left you.<br />
<br />
Smokie are on next with <i>It's</i> <i>Your Life<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">. I don't think I recognise this.</span></i><br />
<br />
They've gone a bit reggae - in the Paul Nicholas sense of the word.<br />
<br />
It might be reggae but it's the same song they always have hits with.<br />
<br />
This is strange. For no noticeable reason, it's suddenly changed tempo and turned into <i>Baby You're a Rich Man.</i><br />
<br />
And suddenly it's turning back into reggae again. Frankly I don't have a clue what's going on. It's all a bit daring and experimental by Smokie standards.<br />
<br />
All it needs is for Suzi Quatro to appear and it's had everything.<br />
<br />
Sadly Suzi doesn't put in an appearance.<br />
<br />
Happily, The Brotherhood of Man do.<br />
<br />
Seeing the looks on their faces as they sing of suicide does remind me of when Westlife appeared on <i>Top of the Pops </i>and grinned their way through every moment of their cover of <i>Seasons in the Sun</i>.<br />
<br />
But I like to think this is where Steve Nieve stole the piano sound for <i>Oliver's Army</i> from.<br />
<br />
Bob Marley's back with <i>Ecksidass</i>. You really do think someone should've told him he was saying it wrong.<br />
<br />
It doesn't matter how hard he tries, he'll never be able to do reggae like Smokie can.<br />
<br />
It's the Alessi Brothers with <i>Oh Lori</i>. I assume they're no relation to the Alessi Sisters from <i>Neighbour</i>s, even though they too were twins.<br />
<br />
To be honest, it's not one of my favourite songs, being the musical equivalent of candy floss. And, for some reason it's giving me the urge to stand in a lift.<br />
<br />
But forget the Alessi Brothers! We don't need <i>them </i>any more.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Because we've got the return of Barry Biggs!<br />
<br />
God alone knows what he's dressed as. He seems to be auditioning for the part of Harry Secombe's stand-in in the worst-ever version of <i>Oliver</i>.<br />
<br />
Showing the level of daring that even Smokie could only dream of, he's singing <i>Life is a Three-Ringed Circus</i>, clearly not at all sticking to the format that gave us <i>Sideshow</i>. Personally I've always found life to be a three-ringed lemur.<br />
<br />
Does it say bad things about me that I'm quite enjoying this?<br />
<br />
I think I'll be singing this in bed tonight.<br />
<br />
And now Legs and Co are dancing to Boney M and <i>Ma Baker</i>.<br />
<br />
This is driving me up the wall. When are we actually going to be allowed to see the band the world knows as The M? I want to see Bobby dance, not these bums.<br />
<br />
I really don't understand what's going on. There's a granny dancing on the screen while the rest of them're sat rogering chairs. What does any of this have to do with a female Chicago gangster?<br />
<br />
It's Andy Gibb.<br />
<br />
This is very Bee Gees. Did they write it for him?<br />
<br />
Hot Chocolate are still at Number 1 - which means they've won again.<br />
<br />
Errol shows his class by managing to sing the last line with his mouth shut.<br />
<br />
And we play out with Donna Summer and <i>I Feel Love</i>.<br />
<br />
This pleases me because I do recall watching this play-out upon first broadcast all those years ago, making it one of the few moments since I started watching these repeats that I actually remember seeing at the time.<br />
<br />
So, as predicted, <i>Top of the Pops</i> did indeed fail to play any of Britain's rich musical heritage. Instead it gave us a tale of the familiar with the odd surprise.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if it reflects worst on the show or on me that the act I missed most on tonight's show was Boney M and the one I enjoyed most was Barry Biggs. If only they'd let <i>me </i>choose the soundtrack to that opening ceremony, what a show it would've been.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-79381376622678952822012-07-25T21:02:00.000+01:002012-07-25T21:02:35.368+01:00Top of the Pops: 30th June, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yTjungFUS7knQlQIIIAIGsc4qYp1gPqKgi1um3VsmShfRTixwWv7g9gflZ87jMmAJc1Csak6aBndBUAA2jwzTITzXuEkConz8DhgCU2vXvv-1yxh7CjBc_cvMoDAr9qbV1GdfayLycM/s1600/Brian+May+queen+live.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Brian May of Queen playing guitar live" border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yTjungFUS7knQlQIIIAIGsc4qYp1gPqKgi1um3VsmShfRTixwWv7g9gflZ87jMmAJc1Csak6aBndBUAA2jwzTITzXuEkConz8DhgCU2vXvv-1yxh7CjBc_cvMoDAr9qbV1GdfayLycM/s400/Brian+May+queen+live.JPG" title="Brian May of Queen playing guitar live" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian May of Queen.<br />
By Thomas Steffan by using Olympus Camedia C700 (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a> or <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5">CC-BY-SA-2.5</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AQueen_2005_1010016.JPG">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Yet</span></i> again the BBC fails in its attempts to confuse me with scheduling chaos. And I find myself facing Noel Edmonds; a man so resolutely un-punk, in this heyday of the genre, that it's almost a punk statement in its own right. Could it be that Noel Edmonds was, in fact, in 1977, actually the most punk individual in the whole of the British Isles?<br />
<br />
Someone who's definitely not punk is the opening act.<br />
<br />
Who they are, I have no idea, as the show's back to its policy of opening with a turn I've never heard of.<br />
<br />
Whoever they are, they're in a very 1970s' looking video.<br />
<br />
But just look at that audience go! We must be back with <i>Soul Train</i>! If only we'd ever see that kind of life from a <i>Top of the Pops</i> audience.<br />
<br />
But wait a minute! Something's wrong here! We're not on <i>Soul Train</i> at all!<br />
<br />
That's the <i>Top of the Pops</i> studio and, miracle of miracles, it's the <i>Top of the Pop</i>s audience who're frugging like their lives depend on it. Have the producers, shamed by the antics of <i>Soul Train</i>, finally snapped and threatened to shoot them if they don't move?<br />
<br />
Frankly, not all of them look happy to be doing so, and some look positively reluctant. I can't help but think of those chickens that're made to dance by being stood on a hot metal plate.<br />
<br />
Personally, I don't care how it was achieved, I'm happy just to see it happen.<br />
<br />
At its climax, Noel appears on screen but he looks like he's been superimposed on the studio in much the same way as he seemed to have been superimposed on the 1970s' music scene.<br />
<br />
Gladys Knight's back with that video.<br />
<br />
This really is the silliest dance I've ever seen grown men do.<br />
<br />
<s>Keith Lemon</s> John Miles is back with <i>Slow Down</i>.<br />
<br />
And he's gained a pair of sunglasses since his last visit.<br />
<br />
Interesting that Peter Frampton's tube's still world famous, while John Miles's is totally forgotten.<br />
<br />
Noel tips it to get to Number 1, which I assume means it dropped off the chart the following week never to be heard of again.<br />
<br />
Jesse Green's with us. Has he been on before? The name rings a bell but I don't recognise the face. <br />
<br />
Either way, he's the living embodiment of White Suit Man.<br />
<br />
This all seems a bit Sheffield Fiesta.<br />
<br />
Not only that but it all sounds very familiar; like they've got the chord sequence of well-known song and played it backwards to disguise where it's come from.<br />
<br />
Queen are back with <i>Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy</i> and the video we saw a couple of weeks ago.<br />
<br />
Having already given the kiss of death to John Miles, Noel returns, with his record of the week.<br />
<br />
It's by Cliff Richard and it shows how unsinkable Cliff's career is that it even managed to survive the endorsement of Edmonds.<br />
<br />
Although I have to say I don't know this song at all.<br />
<br />
I'm starting to realise why. On first hearing, it sounds like a meandering mess and has, “Flop,” written all over it.<br />
<br />
Not that you could tell that to Noel who reappears at its conclusion to rave about how wonderful it is.<br />
<br />
“When twelve legs get together, and a few other bits,” declares Noel. That's right, it's Legs and Co and their other bits, this time dancing to <i>Feel The Need In Me</i> by whoever it is.<br />
<br />
Legs have been far too sensible lately.<br />
<br />
And they continue that trend with a dance that seems to owe nothing in its execution to the lyrical content of the song they're dancing to.<br />
<br />
Apparently the track was by the Detroit Emeralds.<br />
<br />
But now it's Emerson, Lake and Palmer, with <i>Fanfare For The Common Man</i>, though the conceit of playing it in an empty Montreal Olympic stadium can't disguise the sheer silliness of the track.<br />
<br />
A band who were rarely silly – except when they were singing about flying saucers - have grabbed the Number 1 slot.<br />
<br />
It's Hot Chocolate, and it's their first ever chart topper, with <i>So You Win Again</i>.<br />
<br />
For such a granny pleasing band, they were remarkably miserable. This was probably all for the best, as Errol really did have a wonderfully dry, glacial and downbeat voice.<br />
<br />
But we finish with a burst of frustration, as we play out with Boney M and <i>Ma Baker</i>. It's not fair - Boney M always seem to be relegated to the play-out. Will we never get to see Bobby dancing?<br />
<br />
To be honest, I do prefer the show when there's someone truly dreadful on it. In the absence of such an act, the show can seem terribly beige. For me, the ideal <i>Top of the Pops</i> has a nightmarish act, a stone-cold classic, a bit of punk, an ELO video and Jimmy Savile. Tonight's edition had none of the above. And so I can't help feeling - for all its solidity and the producer's attempts to liven up the audience - that, like John Miles's tube, it shall fade from the memory almost as soon as it's departed.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-73239403829405239642012-07-18T21:25:00.001+01:002012-09-13T22:30:12.821+01:00Top of the Pops: 23rd June, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxn4_DgpuWNYI5H6oO14buhuMpwMOMLX5Dz2b8CaCQUCi8b63OCmGFP4ufOtOuFT-z9j2QRDB8sXvaxT9HtVc3qEpEzHsYl1UKB7g9wVvFOftrVT81F6Rua-XzoNd7ym8sp0qFrcfBLbw/s1600/Brotherhood_Of_Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Brotherhood of Man, 1976 Eurovision Song Contest rehearsals" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxn4_DgpuWNYI5H6oO14buhuMpwMOMLX5Dz2b8CaCQUCi8b63OCmGFP4ufOtOuFT-z9j2QRDB8sXvaxT9HtVc3qEpEzHsYl1UKB7g9wVvFOftrVT81F6Rua-XzoNd7ym8sp0qFrcfBLbw/s400/Brotherhood_Of_Man.jpg" title="Brotherhood of Man, 1976 Eurovision Song Contest rehearsals" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brotherhood of Man - Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief:<br />
Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO),<br />
1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05,<br />
bestanddeelnummer 928-4930 (Nationaal Archief)<br />
[CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Despite</span></i> its best efforts to do so, BBC 4 has pitifully failed to catch me out, and this Wednesday evening finds me all rared up and ready to go.<br />
<br />
I'm not the only one - because Jimmy Savile too has failed to be caught out and, by the sounds of him, is as full of vim and vigour as ever.<br />
<br />
But first we kick off with a miracle, as, for possibly the first time ever, I recognise both the opening act <i>and</i> their song.<br />
<br />
It's Dave Edmunds and his Rockpile, with <i>I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock and Roll</i>.<br />
<br />
In retrospect, what an odd outfit Dave Edmunds' Rockpile were, somehow managing to feel like they were riding on a New Wave bandwagon despite being as much a 1950s throwback as Shakin' Stevens ever was.<br />
<br />
Nick Lowe still looks like he should've been the fifth Beatle though.<br />
<br />
Jimmy Savile's back and as well dressed as ever, in a tracksuit covered in crudely sewn-on flags of the British Isles.<br />
<br />
Now it's Tony Etoria.<br />
<br />
They've saved the act I've never heard of for second on the bill! Can the show survive such a drastic format change?<br />
<br />
This seems to be cheerful tune sung from the perspective of a mad stalker.<br />
<br />
Sadly for Tony and his oddly creepy song, the audience're clearly more interested in watching the cameramen than in watching <i>him</i>.<br />
<br />
Speaking of creepy, Gary Glitter's back.<br />
<br />
And it's a lot livelier than his last appearance, which was just plain disturbing.<br />
<br />
This is more like the Gary we were familiar with - although you can't help feeling it's a song calling out for a bigger production.<br />
<br />
My razor-sharp Steve Senses tell me he might be miming.<br />
<br />
Overall you have to say it's one of music's great tragedies that a man who, like Jimmy Savile, could make you smile just upon the mention of his name, had to end up enmeshed in such scandal, robbing us forever of a small piece of innocent fun in our lives.<br />
<br />
Next up, it's Carole Bayer Sager. He still hasn't moved out and she still hasn't got her hands out of her pockets.<br />
<br />
Carole's gone and Jimmy's returned. He's back to his old trick of introducing us to strange acquaintances of his. God only knows where he finds his endless supply of discomfiting people.<br />
<br />
It's <s>ABBA</s> the Brotherhood Of Man, with <i>Angelo</i>. This is more like it. How could anyone not like the Brotherhood Of Man?<br />
<br />
<i>Angelo</i>'s resemblance to <i>Fernando</i> is obvious but I'd never noticed before that they've also stolen the piano from <i>Dancing Queen</i>.<br />
<br />
There's no two ways about it, this has to be the cheeriest song about suicide ever written.<br />
<br />
Now we're back with another of Jimmy's friends who all look weirdly familiar, like they should be someone famous. This time it's a man called Dennis, and the famous person he should be is Mick Fleetwood.<br />
<br />
The famous people the Stranglers should have been are the Stranglers and that's the cue for them to give us another airing of <i>Go Buddy Go</i>.<br />
<br />
You have to give <i>Top Of The Pops</i> credit. How many other music shows could have gone seamlessly from the Brotherhood Of Man to the Stranglers with nothing to separate them but Jimmy Savile?<br />
<br />
Now it's Johnny Nash. I don't know the song but, whatever it is, it's taking its time getting going.<br />
<br />
I must admit I know very little of the oeuvre of Johnny Nash but this seems quite nice, with a hint of Otis Redding's <i>Try A Little Tenderness</i>.<br />
<br />
Legs and Co are back, dressed as Little Bo Peep and dancing to <i>Oh Lori</i>.<br />
<br />
I do feel they should have dancers on <i>Jools Holland's Later</i> to fill in for any acts who can't be bothered to turn up.<br />
<br />
I bet Paul Nicholas would never be not bothered to turn up for a TV show. I bet Paul Nicholas would never be not bothered to turn up for for the opening of an envelope. Never have I seen a man of Paul Nicholas's enthusiasm. And we get a chance to experience it all over again as the man who gave us seminal rock classic <i>Grandma's Party</i> is back, doing <i>Heaven on the 7th Floor</i>.<br />
<br />
There's a harmonica. For a moment I'm hoping it turns out to be being played by Stevie Wonder.<br />
<br />
Sadly it doesn't. But what meeting of the talents that would've been.<br />
<br />
I do feel Paul Nicolas was what Brendon could've been if he'd played his cards right.<br />
<br />
Jimmy has another friend with him. This time the famous person he should be is Peter Frampton because it <i>is</i> Peter Frampton, popping in to show off his bare chest and say nothing much in particular. Sadly, his tube is notable by its absence. It would've been a wonderful moment in pop history if, in the time since his previous appearance on the show, Peter Frampton had gone so mad he'd taken to talking through his tube as well.<br />
<br />
At Number 1, it's the Jacksons with <i>Show You The Way To Go</i>.<br />
<br />
I must confess it's not one of my favourite Jacksons tracks.<br />
<br />
To be honest not many Jacksons tracks are.<br />
<br />
Despite me being a renowned king of Disco, I only ever liked <i>Blame It On The Boogie</i> and <i>Can You Feel It?</i><br />
<br />
What's this show they're on? I don't think it's <i>Soul Train</i>, the studio and stage layout don't look right. Nor do the audience, who seem more of a mixed racial bag than <i>Soul Train</i>'s audience ever were.<br />
<br />
Whatever show it is, the canned audience seem to be getting well into it.<br />
<br />
Sadly, for me, it seems to be dragging on forever.<br />
<br />
Jimmy's strangling a woman as we go into a track I don't recognise that's acting as the show's play-out. For a moment it sounds like Cliff Richard then suddenly sounds like Jamiroquai. I brilliantly conclude it's neither of them but don't conclude who it actually <i>is</i> and can therefore only watch in cluelessness as the show fades out.<br />
<br />
Well that all flew by. All in all, I think that was one of my favourite editions of the show so far. I don't think I disliked anything aside from from the Jacksons and, apart from it dragging on too long, I don't actively mind that one either. Some people might say I should have disliked the Botherhood of Man and Paul Nicholas but they're always so smiley and glad to be there, how could I ever hope to take against them?Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-83818190274354199082012-07-12T21:23:00.000+01:002012-07-12T21:23:19.116+01:00Top of the Pops: 16th June, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgol50yY8UjEMvtywvhmE5I0jd-2F_-6FcqPzFaH4r4QFrclfN7l3zbY-nO43SpYKUAEkcC2e3u0tH-jnrPtqOvJE4dERqEV8eWbGEUp_zTVrbwiCJfAgs__OvIfGVnrBKk3vqv7J0JOO4/s1600/Olivia+newton+john.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Grease and Xanadu star Olivia Newton-John smiling, 1988" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgol50yY8UjEMvtywvhmE5I0jd-2F_-6FcqPzFaH4r4QFrclfN7l3zbY-nO43SpYKUAEkcC2e3u0tH-jnrPtqOvJE4dERqEV8eWbGEUp_zTVrbwiCJfAgs__OvIfGVnrBKk3vqv7J0JOO4/s1600/Olivia+newton+john.jpg" title="Olivia Newton-John" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olivia Newton-John by Larry D. Moore<br />
(Nv8200p on en.wikipedia) using a Minolta SRT-101<br />
camera.<br />
(© 1988 Larry D. Moore)<br />
[<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL</a> or <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOlivia_newtonjohn_1988b.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>This</i></span> week there's been much talk of Olympic lanes on the roads of London, wherein the VIPs of that event can drive around the streets of our capital, unhindered by the masses who actually pay for it all. But who'll be speeding along tonight's highway to glory? And who'll be driving straight up pop's cul-de-sac before hitting the bollards of obscurity?<br />
<br />
Only David "Kid" Jensen can tell us. For it is he who is to be our guide around the spiritual spaghetti junction that is the music scene of 1977.<br />
<br />
And of course, we kick off with the obligatory act I don't recognise.<br />
<br />
I do vaguely know the tune though, even if I don't have a clue what it's called.<br />
<br />
If it wasn't 35 years old, I could think it's being sung by Keith Lemon.<br />
<br />
It sounds a bit like Disco Duck but my finely-honed Steve-Senses tell me it's probably not Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots.<br />
<br />
Whoever he is, he's stolen Peter Frampton's tube and is clearly determined to use it. It's all very funky but, to my untutored ears, he lacks the style of the man they don't know as Frampto.<br />
<br />
Now it's all over, Kid tells us it was John Miles with <i>Slow Down</i>.<br />
<br />
This is a total shock to me, as I never knew John Miles looked like that. For some reason, I always thought he was bald but I might be mixing him up with the then-popular snooker player Graham Miles.<br />
<br />
Now it's someone I could never mix up with a snooker player.<br />
<br />
It's Olivia Newton-John, with <i>Sam</i>.<br />
<br />
It does strike me that she has a much stronger and more passionate voice than she's sometimes given credit for but, right now, I'm more concerned with what I'm seeing rather than hearing because, for some reason, the picture's square instead of rectangular. Is this how it was transmitted at the time? If so it's a strange artistic choice. It creates the impression we're seeing every act through a hole cut in a sheet of black cardboard. Either that or it's like I've just cut a hole in Olivia Newton-John's living room wall and am now perving at her.<br />
<br />
And now I'm perving at Hot Chocolate with <i>So You Win Again</i>.<br />
<br />
I do believe it's physically impossible to dislike Hot Chocolate.<br />
<br />
If only I could say the same for Queen who're on next with <i>Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy</i>.<br />
<br />
When I was a youth, a strange thing happened. After <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>, Queen completely disappeared off my radar until they released <i>We Are The Champions</i> - and, listening to this, I can see why. It's all very clever but, like 10cc at their worst, seems to be an adventure in futile and gratuitous creativity.<br />
<br />
Now it's somebody whose name I didn't catch and a song that seems to be called <i>Everybody Have a Good Time</i>.<br />
<br />
They seem to be OK but the truth is there's an act like this on every week and, after a few months, they all sort of blur into one.<br />
<br />
Their dance moves are somewhat limited.<br />
<br />
In fact they only seem to have one, which involves groinal thrusting. They somehow manage to make groinal thrusting seem less sexual than it should be. Not like that bloke from Honky who managed to make it far too sexual for comfort.<br />
<br />
Towards the end, the singer mentions that they're on <i>Soul Train</i>, which seems rather undiplomatic of him.<br />
<br />
Now Legs and Co are dancing to <i>You're Gonna Get Next To Me</i> by yet another act whose name I've missed.<br />
<br />
Men seem to have appeared from nowhere to dance with Legs and Co but most of them don't seem to <i>want</i> to dance with Legs and Co, which is rather odd, as they look rather attractive this week.<br />
<br />
That over and done with, it's the Foster Brothers.<br />
<br />
Kid tells us we'll be hearing a lot more of them in the future. Maybe I've not been paying enough attention but I don't recall ever hearing anything of them ever.<br />
<br />
If you've ever wondered what Kirsten Dunst would look like with a moustache, here's your chance to find out because the singer's resemblance to her really is quite striking – and distracting.<br />
<br />
Then again it's not as distracting as his constant energetic bobbing around which has rapidly become annoying.<br />
<br />
The song itself seems OK but not remarkable.<br />
<br />
I still can't get over how much he looks like Kirsten Dunst. I genuinely think it'll haunt me for years.<br />
<br />
Argh! It's Kermit's nephew!<br />
<br />
In Germany, they have a well-publicised problem with exploding frogs. I wish <i>Top of the Pops</i> did.<br />
<br />
Fair play to it, after 35 years it can still make me feel as nauseous as ever.<br />
<br />
And I still don't think it's fair that that frog has nicer banisters than I do. I'm genuinely tempted to go out right now and start carving them into the same shape. Only technical incompetence and a fear that my banisters aren't made from real wood, stands between me and my ambition.<br />
<br />
From out of the blue (as far as I'm concerned), it's Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I'd always assumed they were one of those acts who'd never been on <i>Top of the Pops</i>.<br />
<br />
So far it's sounding like Status Quo on sleeping pills.<br />
<br />
It's not great.<br />
<br />
In fact, some might say it's terrible.<br />
<br />
Then again, maybe it's good. I'm having trouble making my mind up.<br />
<br />
Kenny Rogers is Number 1 with <i>Lucille</i>. How could anyone not warm to Kenny Rogers?<br />
<br />
That's not to say the song's succeeding in holding my attention in any way shape or form but there's something about Kenny Rogers I can't help but approve of, no matter how boring the song.<br />
<br />
My expert knowledge of counting to three tells me it's a waltz. I wonder how many waltzes have made Number 1 on the UK charts?<br />
<br />
If this was a proper website, I'd probably be able to tell you but that sort of competence, insight and expertise'd go against the spirit of the enterprise, so I'll just sit here adrift on a sea of ignorance and tell you that we play out with the Jacksons doing <i>Show You The Way To Go</i>.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-26006303394339581322012-06-28T21:06:00.000+01:002012-06-29T09:01:41.181+01:00Top of the Pops: 9th June, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDa716LIeAjubFbif-bxi53sc0I5ub2mq9iK6ZVQE4GKamOa1B84PgmxyqO-iNRqOX1whSKX1V8is2Fg8QKRZQvV0ACcCUa1ZqHs1f3MRAzC1Pob9NWeMtK6dhjcevfBjmQ_gLoScVxFg/s1600/Angelina+Jolie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Angelina Jolie" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDa716LIeAjubFbif-bxi53sc0I5ub2mq9iK6ZVQE4GKamOa1B84PgmxyqO-iNRqOX1whSKX1V8is2Fg8QKRZQvV0ACcCUa1ZqHs1f3MRAzC1Pob9NWeMtK6dhjcevfBjmQ_gLoScVxFg/s400/Angelina+Jolie.jpg" title="Angelina Jolie" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The usual problems finding a decent free-use image of<br />
any of tonight's acts, so here's <i>Tomb Raider</i> and<br />
<i>Alexander</i> sex-bomb Angelia Jolie.<br />
Almost uniquely, Angelina Jolie has no valid links to<br />
<i>Top of the Pops</i>.<br />
By Angelina-Jolie. jpg: www.promiflash.de<br />
- Bitte bei Bildverwendung auch Link setzen derivative<br />
work: Born Slippy (Angelina-Jolie.jpg) [CC-BY-SA-3.0<br />
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The</span></i> nation's greatest banks may currently be facing bankruptcy and desertion thanks to the revelation they've been fiddling interest rates but, no matter what the interest level <i>Top of the Pops</i> generates, we return to it time and time again.<br />
<br />
Who'll achieve chart solvency tonight and who'll merely drive us to solvent abuse?<br />
<br />
Only Tony Blackburn can tell us. For it is he who is to guide us through the balance sheets of history.<br />
<br />
We launch into the show with the continuity announcer telling us we're going to be treated to Bob Marley and the Wurzels. I don't know about you but Bob Marley and the Wurzels were my favourite group of the 1970s.<br />
<br />
Not my favourite group of the 1970s are the first act on – mostly because I don't have a clue who they are.<br />
<br />
That's because <i>Top of the Pops</i> is continuing its grand tradition of kicking off each show with an act and a track I don't recognise. Just how did the producers way back in 1977 know just what acts I'd have heard of in 2012?<br />
<br />
Whoever they are, one of them has a cape. Capes are always impressive on a singer.<br />
<br />
Is this Osibisa? I have no reason to think it is other than it might be.<br />
<br />
Whatever it is, it's all very cheery and summery, though I suspect I won't remember it for more than thirty seconds after it's over.<br />
<br />
It <i>is</i> Osibisa. Well done to me. Yet again my stunning knowledge of music pulls me through.<br />
<br />
Now it's ELO and <i>Telephone Line</i>. It's the same video as the other week - and it's still one of my favourite ELO songs.<br />
<br />
It's clearly not one of the producer's favourite ELO songs, as, three-quarters of the way through, it has a dirty great edit inflicted on it that's so devoid of subtlety you wonder if it was done with a lawn mower.<br />
<br />
Now it's Gladys Knight and the Pips with <i>Baby Don't Change Your Mind</i>. It's on video and it's all very 1970s.<br />
<br />
I think this may be the first time I've ever seen what Gladys Knight looks like. Somehow I always imagined her differently. The woman in the video seems far too young and small to be Gladys Knight.<br />
<br />
Still, they all seem very happy people and that makes me pleased for them.<br />
<br />
Gladys has gone and, for a moment, I get all excited thinking I can hear the strains of <i>Billy Don't Be a Hero</i> as Tony does his next link.<br />
<br />
Tragically it's not Paper Lace at all. In fact it's turned out to be Neil Innes with a song I don't recognise.<br />
<br />
Frankly, I don't want to recognise it. It's about the Queen and it's not exactly the Sex Pistols.<br />
<br />
In fact it's positively puke-inducing. I'm listening hard to see if I can hear any signs of subversive irony in it all but it seems to be a straight tribute to the Her Maj. Frankly, in my eyes, this isn't doing Neil's standing a lot of good.<br />
<br />
“Sailing on the yacht Britannia,” he sings. “Nowhere in the world would ban yer.” It's like he's desperately trying to undo all the good-will generated by his work with the Rutles.<br />
<br />
That was genuinely appalling and makes you realise what some people'll do to try and get a knighthood.<br />
<br />
In total contrast, you get the feeling the Stranglers'd just give a knighthood the good kicking it deserves...<br />
<br />
...because they're back - and still in, “Evil Chas and Dave,” mode.<br />
<br />
Thanks to Neil Innes, I'm enjoying this a lot more than I probably should be.<br />
<br />
As though Greece hasn't suffered enough, Demis Roussos is back – this time with a strangely Scottish-sounding song.<br />
<br />
It brings to mind the Goombay Dance Band - and I don't care what anyone says, that can't be a good thing.<br />
<br />
He's hiding behind ferns, like a sniper who doesn't believe the war's over.<br />
<br />
The way he's looking at the microphone you just know he's desperate to eat it.<br />
<br />
Honky are with us. <br />
<br />
Is this the song they did the other week or is it another one?<br />
<br />
Whatever it is, the singer's still as unpleasant and disturbing as he was before. I really do feel he should have been banned from television.<br />
<br />
Next, it's Legs and Company dancing to <i>Show You The Way To Go</i> by the Jacksons.<br />
<br />
They've borrowed Demis Roussos's vegetation.<br />
<br />
For some reason, the sun behind them's started flashing. Is Flick Colby sure the sun's meant to do things like that?<br />
<br />
As promised before the show, it's Bob Marley.<br />
<br />
Disgracefully, he's dumped the Wurzels and is hanging around with some other bunch called the Wailers.<br />
<br />
I don't care who they are. They'll never have the magic of the Wurzels.<br />
<br />
They're doing <i>Exodus</i> which I've never found to be one of his more interesting songs, mostly because it sounds like he's just making it up as he goes along and randomly throwing in the sort of words and phrases that'll make it sound like it's about something.<br />
<br />
It's no <i>I Am a Cider Drinker</i>, that's for sure. Oh Bob, did you really not realise how much you needed Adge Cutler?<br />
<br />
From someone who needs Adge to someone who needs a kick in the nadgers because Rod Stewart's still at Number 1! Is there to be no escape from that man's backside?<br />
<br />
There is now because Rod's finally gone, and we're playing out with Emerson Lake and Palmer's <i>Fanfare for the Common Man</i>. This is more like it. It might all be a bit Prog but it's a cut above most of the acts on tonight. <br />
<br />
I can't say it was a riveting show. The highlights were the Stranglers and ELO with performances we've already seen before. Lowlights have to have been the singer of Honky, Neil Innes' dismal bandwagon-jumping and the total absence of the Wurzels. <br />
<br />
Still, we did get to see Bob Marley, even if it wasn't one my faves by him, we got to wave our little Union Jacks at something and I finally found out what Gladys Knight looks like.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-15311486326588443202012-06-21T21:06:00.001+01:002012-09-13T22:28:46.331+01:00Top of the Pops: 2nd June, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABGZS-2ORolvdE-S2BNf1yrn6uZfMuueFZ7CHFZWPz7374VsvwOMRNqK2JbohQoeYZYqsy0_Y757uDwm7zmPmtrls7Oj2TmXXh1Wv8AtquwjdlUchJ9TbT4ux5cEaHuVxhkDY0HHwYks/s1600/Drew+Barrymore+by+David_Shankbone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Drew Barrymore in a green dress baring her shoulders" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABGZS-2ORolvdE-S2BNf1yrn6uZfMuueFZ7CHFZWPz7374VsvwOMRNqK2JbohQoeYZYqsy0_Y757uDwm7zmPmtrls7Oj2TmXXh1Wv8AtquwjdlUchJ9TbT4ux5cEaHuVxhkDY0HHwYks/s400/Drew+Barrymore+by+David_Shankbone.jpg" title="Drew Barrymore" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who'd have thought it'd be so hard to find a Free-Use<br />
image of Twiggy?<br />
In its place, here's one of former Hollywood wild-child<br />
Drew Barrymore.<br />
Michael Barrymore's catchphrase was, "Aw-wight?"<br />
and sometime <i>TOTP</i> presenter Steve Wright had a hit<br />
with <i>I'm Alright</i>. Therefore, Drew Barrymore has many<br />
valid links with <i>TOTP</i>.<br />
By David Shankbone (David Shankbone)<br />
[GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),<br />
CC-BY-SA-3.0<br />
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)<br />
or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0<br />
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The</span></i> nation may be vexed by talk of Jimmy Carr's financial doings but there's only one matter taxing <i>Steve Does Top of the Pops</i> right now.<br />
<br />
And that's who's going to be Number 1 this week in 1977? Who'll be finding a safe haven of chart liquidity and who's to become adrift off the shores of achievement, entangled in the loopholes of failure?<br />
<br />
Only Noel Edmonds can tell us - for it is he who's to guide us tonight through the balance sheets of Nostalgia.<br />
<br />
He wants to borrow my cheeky bits. I won't let him. I need my cheeky bits. I don't know what I need them for but I feel it's best to keep them close to hand, just in case.<br />
<br />
Speaking of hands, someone has his on a piano.<br />
<br />
It seems he belongs to Elkie Brooks who's doing a song I've never heard before in my entire life.<br />
<br />
After the way thing have gone in recent times, it's now clear that each week's opening slot on <i>Top of the Pops</i> is reserved for songs I don't recognise.<br />
<br />
It's all very jolly, whatever it is, but you do wonder if anyone at the record company really thought it had hit potential. I think it probably sums it up that I half expect Jools Holland to appear and join in.<br />
<br />
Now that it's over, Noel tells us it's called <i>Saved</i>.<br />
<br />
Sadly no one's saved us from the horror that's to come next as we get the Muppets and <i>Halfway Down the Stairs</i>.<br />
<br />
I hated it at the time. Will 35 years of not having heard it have softened my heart?<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
It won't.<br />
<br />
Not only that but it's bringing back terrible memories of Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop.<br />
<br />
Yes I know Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop was a totally different act but, spiritually, it's hard to spot the difference.<br />
<br />
The only thought that impresses me is the Muppets have nicer banisters than I do.<br />
<br />
Now it's the Four Seasons and something that's either called <i>Rhapsody</i> or <i>Vaseline</i>. Noel's intro's got me confused.<br />
<br />
It's another one I've never heard before. So far it's not sounding riveting.<br />
<br />
In fact, they seem to be going for Liverpool Express's title of the world's most comatose group.<br />
<br />
Even the presence of a balloon on stage can't create a sense of spontaneity.<br />
<br />
Finally rid of the Four Seasons, we're joined by Twiggy. <br />
<br />
She's doing that song the Three Degrees had a hit with. I was until now totally unaware Twiggy'd ever done a version of it.<br />
<br />
Out of four songs on the show so far, I've only ever heard one before – and that was by the Muppets. It's not shaping up to be a vintage week.<br />
<br />
In fairness, this is a perfectly functional version and she has a perfectly pleasant voice. You can't get round it though; she does have the eyes of a a murderer.<br />
<br />
Now It's Jesse Green - and another one I've never heard of.<br />
<br />
Whoever he is, he's very patriotic, with a great big Union Flag behind him, surrounded by light bulbs. Was this to do with the Silver Jubilee or was there some other reason for this rampant show of national pride?<br />
<br />
Jesse's in an outfit that defies conventional description. He's wearing a hat The Shadow would wear if he wanted to look a berk, a tight leather jacket and what seems to be a very wide cravat. <br />
<br />
The look might be distinctive but the song sounds like something you'd expect to hear on a cruise liner.<br />
<br />
It's over - and we suddenly get a bizarre shot of vast acres of bare studio floor. Is this an accident or has the director decided this'll look somehow impressive?<br />
<br />
Not that Legs and Co care. They're too busy dancing to Marvin Gaye.<br />
<br />
I do quite like the lighting effects they're using for this performance - lights flashing on and off to highlight various different dancers. It was clearly choreographed back in the days before anyone cared about epilepsy.<br />
<br />
No disrespect to Marvin but I'm getting a bored with him now. He seems to be dragging on forever.<br />
<br />
Far livelier is Carole Bayer Sager with the same performance of <i>You're Moving Out Today</i> she did a couple of weeks ago.<br />
<br />
I remember Jimmy Young playing this on his radio show at the time. That's not an interesting fact but it is at least a fact - and proof that I recognise something from this show.<br />
<br />
She's doing her best but the <i>Top of the Pops</i> audience are as hard to please as ever.<br />
<br />
Now it's the Strawbs with yet another one I've never heard of.<br />
<br />
Weren't the Strawbs secretly the Monks who had a hit with <i>Nice Legs, Shame About the Face</i>? Or did I just imagine that?<br />
<br />
The song itself has little life in it and sounds like a Kinks B-side.<br />
<br />
Now Noel's interviewing the Alessi Brothers who seem about as excited to be there as the audience are.<br />
<br />
Rod's still at Number 1. He seems to have been there all year. I'm starting to miss ABBA, especially as it's the same video every week.<br />
<br />
Now Rod's gone and we play out with Genesis and yet another song I've never heard before. <br />
<br />
Well, that was a very singular show, packed solid with songs with which I was previously unfamiliar, all of which made it clear very quickly <i>why</i> I was unfamiliar with them. Sadly, there was no Stranglers or Jam to up the energy levels – or even a Joy Sarney or Contempt to boggle the mind - so it just flopped there like a pancake someone had dropped and left half-hanging off a table with bits dropping onto the floor to be nibbled at by a bored-looking dog.<br />
<br />
Who says this isn't the <i>Steve Does Top of the Pops'</i> Age of Simile?Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-15013461340061844412012-06-14T21:09:00.000+01:002012-06-14T21:09:52.072+01:00Top of the Pops: 26th May, 1977.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiturt-SKcJqa_GXKV-4LG7hdUFWnSaDKaYMRBVGEV_D4Rj82BhbdvTc56XuzN6tlDkoEYxIoPjwdoYcWHjatONssMSsh6D2vzmkWcP4vkyAxpw1rauBm1FGbgSh8k_186Hgy_Hbd8nPPw/s1600/Kristen+Stewart+WonderCon+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Twilight star Kristen Stewart sits, microphone in hand and wearing a leather jacket, at Wondercon 2012" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiturt-SKcJqa_GXKV-4LG7hdUFWnSaDKaYMRBVGEV_D4Rj82BhbdvTc56XuzN6tlDkoEYxIoPjwdoYcWHjatONssMSsh6D2vzmkWcP4vkyAxpw1rauBm1FGbgSh8k_186Hgy_Hbd8nPPw/s400/Kristen+Stewart+WonderCon+2012.jpg" title="Twilight star Kristen Stewart" width="343" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the absence of a free-use image of any of tonight's acts,<br />
here's a photo of <i>Twilight</i> sexpot Kristen Stewart at Wondercon<br />
2012.<br />
Kristen Stewart has a very large chin. Nicky Chinn has written<br />
very many large chart hits. Therefore Kristen Stewart has many<br />
valid links with <i>Top of the Pops</i>.<br />
Photo by Gage Skidmore<br />
[CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]<br />
via Wikimedia Commons.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Football </span></i>fever may be sweeping Europe even as I speak but there's only one goal that matters to the wise man.<br />
<br />
And that's getting to Number 1 in 1977.<br />
<br />
In that quest to reach the top, who'll smash it in from 35 yards and who'll score a pitiful own goal that has his own fans booing him off at half-time?<br />
<br />
Only the man my late father used to know as Dave Lee Travesty can tell us. For it is he who's to guide us through the congested midfield of nostalgia and spray his balls deep and wide into the corridors of uncertainty.<br />
<br />
We kick off with the original Blue, yet again getting the first, unannounced, slot on the show.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the early start hasn't fired them up with enthusiasm. Their performance is as lacklustre as their previous one.<br />
<br />
They're still going to take their soul to town but they're still not telling us what they're going to do with it when they get there. I like to think they're going to sell it to Satan but, given their dullness, I fear such melodrama to be beyond them.<br />
<br />
But they've drifted away on the breeze and we're suddenly blessed with Olivia Newton John and <i>Sam</i>.<br />
<br />
It's all very pleasant but I really don't have anything to say about it. Who could've thought when we were first hearing this that, a year later, she'd be giving us some of the most iconic pop moments of the 1970s?<br />
<br />
It's the return of Liverpool Express. For such a barely remembered act, it really is amazing just how often they managed to be on <i>TOTP</i>.<br />
<br />
Whatever the song is, it's not off to a promising start. So far, it's flatlining as badly as all their other stuff. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that Liverpool Express were the Mogadon Smokie.<br />
<br />
Would that make them Smogadon?<br />
<br />
Didn't Godzilla once have a fight with Smogadon? If he didn't, he should have. After all, if Godzilla won't keep us safe from the terror of Smogadon then who will?<br />
<br />
Not Dave Lee Travis, that's for sure. Now the song's finally curled up and died, he's up on stage with the culprits, doing something that approximates an interview. Such is the power of Dave Lee Travis that, within seconds of him joining them, Liverpool Express are trying to kill him. All of a sudden I'm warming to them.<br />
<br />
Now it's Legs and Co and something that's clearly meant to be Chinese.<br />
<br />
In fact it's meant to be Japanese because it's Bryan Ferry with <i>Tokyo Joe</i>.<br />
<br />
It's another track I have very little to say about.<br />
<br />
That's not the case with our next turn because, from out of the blue, we launch into the Stranglers with <i>Go Buddy Go</i>.<br />
<br />
This is more like it.<br />
<br />
Or is it?<br />
<br />
Something's not quite right here. I was anticipating snarly spleen-venting and hard-core contempt but, in truth, they seem rather jolly. In all honesty the thing seems to owe more to Chas and Dave than it does to the Sex Pistols.<br />
<br />
We get the keyboard solo and it's all starting to sound like the <i>Only Fools and Horses</i> theme. You have to say it's no <i>No More Heroes</i>.<br />
<br />
Also no <i>No More Heroes</i> is Marie Myriam with this year's Eurovision winner.<br />
<br />
This is quite nice. It's certainly better than <i>Rock Bottom</i> and she seems far less sinister than Lynsey De Paul.<br />
<br />
It's one of those songs that doesn't really go anywhere and, so, craftily makes up for it by constantly building as it goes along.<br />
<br />
Next up it's ELO and <i>Telephone Line</i>. DLT does the joke about them being from Yorkshire - the one he seemed to do every single time he ever played them on the radio. <br />
<br />
Matching the debut of the Stranglers for out-of-the-blueness, is the left-field return of Brendon with another of his smashes. This time it's a thing that seems to be called <i>Rock Me</i>.<br />
<br />
And this is weird because I quickly realise I remember this.<br />
<br />
How can it be?<br />
<br />
How can I remember a Brendon song? What madness is this that's come over me?<br />
<br />
But this is strangely endearing.<br />
<br />
He's doing his best to get the audience going. <br />
<br />
And he's actually succeeding. The famously apathetic <i>TOTP</i> audience is actually clapping along with him. I do feel that in many ways Brendon has been the true star of <i>TOTP</i> since these repeats began, if only for his ability to engage with the audience in a way few acts seemed able to.<br />
<br />
But now Brendon's gone and it's time for this week's Number 1. The half hour's flown by and we're back with Rod and his musical arse.<br />
<br />
Appropriately, bearing in mind that this post began with European football talk, we play-out with the Liverpool team who've just won the European Cup.<br />
<br />
In fairness it's about as close to punk as the Stranglers were.<br />
<br />
So there we are. The Stranglers were a disappointment to me, bringing far too much pub and too little punk to the table. Brendon scored a personal triumph by getting the audience to notice he existed, and Liverpool Express almost killed Dave Lee Travesty. I don't think this week's show'll go down as a classic but at least we can't claim it was devoid of incident.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3176232028550764413.post-21963161333596763742012-05-31T21:18:00.003+01:002014-10-11T10:42:56.225+01:00Top of the Pops: 19th May, 1977.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ8Ts5tazzAEj92sfnueaNU-D8Rhq8z09U5vtNXwbUK6qYE5NP50hfZqrr6A9_i74QVbm3tmBMh09dCTQ0P6lNac2RKN4GMcxYxlfRK84L1JDBP3mXqQodooIQVTqyF6xVNY3DfFG9QA/s1600/Rod+Stewart+sings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rod Stewart sings" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ8Ts5tazzAEj92sfnueaNU-D8Rhq8z09U5vtNXwbUK6qYE5NP50hfZqrr6A9_i74QVbm3tmBMh09dCTQ0P6lNac2RKN4GMcxYxlfRK84L1JDBP3mXqQodooIQVTqyF6xVNY3DfFG9QA/s1600/Rod+Stewart+sings.jpg" title="Rod Stewart sings" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rod Stewart by Helge Øverås (Own work)<br />
[GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),<br />
CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)<br />
or<br />
CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)],<br />
via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>The</i></span> Olympic Torch may be wending its way through the streets of this land even as we speak but there's only one beacon to be seen lighting the boulevards of Nostalgia.<br />
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And that's this week's <i>TOTP</i>.<br />
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Will it burn bright - a symbol of hope for all mankind?<br />
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Or will it splutter and die like the dampest of squibs?<br />
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Only David “Kid” Jensen can tell us. For it is he who's to guide us through the flaming cul-de-sac that men call, “The Past.”<br />
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Straight away, we launch into Suzi Quatro and - inevitably for an opening song - a track that rings no bells with me whatsoever.<br />
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It's a performance that can only be labelled, "Relaxed."<br />
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But that seems inevitable. Like whatever that single was she was on doing a few weeks back, it's not the most grippingest of tracks. In fact, some might call it positively lukewarm. Suzi really did seem to be treading water at this stage of her career. Still, thanks to hindsight, we at least know better was to come.<br />
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The song seems to be called <i>Roxy Roller</i> and, as it finishes, Kid declares it to be, “exciting,” suggesting he's incredibly easily excited.<br />
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Now it's Heatwave and <i>Too Hot to Handle</i>.<br />
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It's the typical Heatwave performance, them in silly outfits doing a song that sounds like Heatwave.<br />
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Now it's time for <i>The Moon And I</i>, sung by Linda Lewis.<br />
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I always thought Linda Lewis was a porn star. Assuming she isn't, just who was I mixing her up with?<br />
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Three songs into the show, and this is the third track I've never heard of.<br />
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But what a sweet little thing she seems.<br />
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Was this really written by Gilbert and Sullivan? Why isn't it all short notes and silly words?<br />
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Whoever wrote it, in the hands of Linda it's all going a bit Minnie Riperton.<br />
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Still, whatever its unlikelihood, I find it strangely intriguing and have the desire to hear it again, if only to find out what I make of it second time round.<br />
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Now for the Bay City Rollers with <i>It's a Game</i>.<br />
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If this hadn't been on two weeks ago, it would've been tonight's fourth consecutive track I've never heard of.<br />
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One solitary audience member waves a scarf. I wonder if she was the only Bay City Rollers fan left in Britain at this stage?<br />
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Now it's Carole Bayer Sager and <i>You're Moving Ou</i>t.<br />
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At last, a track I recognise!<br />
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I may know the song but I'm not sure I've ever seen her before. On first viewing, it does strike me that she looks like Popeye's Olive Oyl.<br />
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Like Barbara Dickson all those weeks ago, while she's making a good go at it, she's somewhat hindered by the invisibility of her backing singers.<br />
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I remember seeing Lynda Carter doing a version of this somewhere. It wasn't a patch on Carole's version.<br />
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Then again, Carole Bayer Sager'd probably struggle with playing Wonder Woman – especially when it comes to finding her invisible plane.<br />
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Joe Tex is at it again.<br />
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And now Legs and Co are dancing to <i>Disco Inferno</i>.<br />
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You'd think this was a perfect track for them to dance to, as it gives them an excuse to just dance and not have to act out any kind of narrative.<br />
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The only problem is that, for no noticeable reason, Flick Colby's ordered hub caps be strapped to their every extremity, meaning that, instead of focusing on their dancing, all you can notice are flashing discs. Flick Colby, a woman who could be relied upon to achieve defeat no matter how much easier it'd be to achieve triumph.<br />
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“From the land of a thousand dancers,” declares Kid, it's the Jacksons.<br />
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Are there really only a thousand dancers in the United States?<br />
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That does seem an unlikely stat.<br />
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Actually in the studio, rather than on video, they're doing <i>Let Me Show You</i>. I must admit it's not one of my favourite Jackson tracks, feeling oddly leaden compared to others of that vintage.<br />
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Michael seems to be the tallest of the Jacksons, which can't be right, can it?<br />
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To be honest, Michael's starting to get on my nerves now, with his random exclamations.<br />
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But at last it's the moment we've all been waiting for. Entire musical epochs collapse before our eyes as punk finally hits <i>TOTP,</i> with the debut of the Jam. Admittedly, you could argue the Jam weren't really punk but it's as close as we've got thus far on the show.<br />
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Paul seems a little angry. Bruce seems a little angry. It's a contrast from the Jacksons, that's for sure.<br />
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And an even bigger contrast is with Rod Stewart who's hit the heady heights of Number 1 with <i>The First Cut is the Deepest. </i><br />
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He's on the <i>TOTP</i> jumbotron. I thought it'd long-since been retired due to the audience's disheartening tendency to stand with their backs to it.<br />
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It's that performance from last week.<br />
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He's waving his bum again.<br />
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As the show draws to a close, Kid signs off by wishing us, “Good love.” Heaven alone knows where he got that one from.<br />
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We play out with Boz Scaggs' <i>Lido Shuffle</i>.<br />
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This is my favourite Boz Scaggs song, by a mile. It sounds like Rick Davies' efforts for Supertramp. Given that Davies was always overshadowed by Roger Hodgson, that might not seem a good thing but Boz clearly knew how to make that sound work.<br />
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So, it was a night when musical differences were stretched almost to breaking point. What other music show could ever have dared give us Gilbert and Sullivan and the Jam in the same broadcast?<br />
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But that was the greatness of <i>TOTP</i>. While the BBC's other great 1970s music show <i>The Old Grey Whistle Test</i> had to crunch gears furiously to adjust to the arrival of the "new" music, <i>TOTP's </i>great amoeboid mass simply absorbed and accommodated any sound the charts could throw at it, before rolling on unperturbed.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.com4